A Medical Miracle for One Heart Pump Patient

Thomas in the hospital after his LVAD implant.
Thomas in the hospital after his LVAD implant surgery.
In September 2011, Thomas Martin underwent a very rare surgery at Sharp Memorial Hospital to remove the implantable heart pump that had kept him alive for more than a year. The pump, called a left ventricular assist device (LVAD), kept Thomas's failing heart beating after a virus attacked it and sent him into heart failure.

Thomas was a seemingly healthy man — a nonsmoker in his early 50s with no history of heart disease — before he started experiencing shortness of breath in September 2009. A chest X-ray showed that his heart was slightly enlarged and his doctor's best guess at the cause for his heart failure was a mysterious virus.

By May 2010, Thomas was walking with a cane and unable to carry conversations without losing his breath. He couldn't eat and had lost 53 pounds in three months, sometimes going a couple of weeks without a proper meal.

Thomas smiles the day before his explant surgery.
Thomas smiles the day before his explant surgery.
After a barrage of tests, Dr. Peter Hoagland, a cardiologist affiliated with Sharp Memorial Hospital, recommended that Thomas have open heart surgery to implant an LVAD. The device would keep Thomas's heart beating and restore much of his health, but most patients live with the device their entire lives or until they can get a heart transplant. Thomas received his LVAD in June 2010.

Remarkably, Thomas's own heart started to regain some function a few months after his surgery. By June 2011, doctors were astounded by Thomas's progress and suggested that his LVAD may be removed — a very rare development occurring in only 2 percent of LVAD patients worldwide.

Today, Thomas is enjoying life with a new appreciation for his health and his beating heart. He also chronicled his ordeal in a book titled “One Percent: My Journey Overcoming Heart Disease.”

For More Information on LVAD or Vascular Care
For more information about heart and vascular care at Sharp or to find a Sharp-affiliated doctor, search for a San Diego cardiologist or call 1-800-82-SHARP (1-800-827-4277), Monday through Friday, 8 am to 6 pm. To find general information about heart and vascular care, visit Cardiovascular Diseases in Adult Health or read the Heart and Cardiovascular News archive.