New Heart-Lung System - KXNet - Bismarck/Minot/Williston/Dickinson

New Heart-Lung System

Minot doctors will be able to save more lives by using a portable heart-lung support system recently approved by the FDA.

The suitcase-sized device called CARDIOHELP provides cardiac and respiratory assistance to patients whose heart or lungs are failing.
Cardiohelp is the worlds smallest heart and lung machine weighing approximately 35 pounds and is transportable.
There are only 20 centers in the United States that have the Cardiohelp device including Minot and more recently, Fargo's centersNew Heart-Lung System.
Cardiovascular Surgeon Dr. Christopher Phillips said this device will save lives that could not otherwise be saved before.

(Dr. Christopher Phillips, Cardiovascular Surgeon, Trinity Hospitals) "I'm bringing Trinity up to the standards of a regional center for cardiac care. We have to rely pretty much every possible operation here on an emergency basis as you can find on any university. If there are conditions that we are not comfortable with doing here, we will send the patient out. This allows us to do that."

The cardiohelp device can assist a patient for an average of 50 days.