'None of it would have been possible without the selfless generosity of the donor family', says mother
A three-year-old boy has been kept alive with an artificial heart for 251 days - longer than any other child in the UK.
Joe Skerratt underwent a successful heart transplant at Great Ormond Street Hospital last year and is now the picture of health.
But it was touch and go for the youngster who was diagnosed with dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM) soon after birth and suffered three cardiac arrests 15 months ago.
The condition, which causes the left and also sometimes the right hand side of the heart to stretch, left Joe’s heart muscle weak and unable to pump blood efficiently around his body.
Joe spent nine months in hospital attached to a device called the ‘Berlin heart’, a 15kg machine the size of a small chest freezer, which supports the work of the heart and acts as a life-saving bridging device for children awaiting a transplant.
Read more - VIDEO: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-2127761/Boy-3-fighting-fit-kept-alive-record-251-days-artificial-heart.html#ixzz1rg26dDio
Joe Skerratt underwent a successful heart transplant at Great Ormond Street Hospital last year and is now the picture of health.
But it was touch and go for the youngster who was diagnosed with dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM) soon after birth and suffered three cardiac arrests 15 months ago.
The condition, which causes the left and also sometimes the right hand side of the heart to stretch, left Joe’s heart muscle weak and unable to pump blood efficiently around his body.
Joe spent nine months in hospital attached to a device called the ‘Berlin heart’, a 15kg machine the size of a small chest freezer, which supports the work of the heart and acts as a life-saving bridging device for children awaiting a transplant.
Read more - VIDEO: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-2127761/Boy-3-fighting-fit-kept-alive-record-251-days-artificial-heart.html#ixzz1rg26dDio
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