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Nov 25, 2008 6:52 pm US/Central
Parents Say New Device Helped Son's Heart Heal
(WCCO)
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Stevon's heart is healthy again, all that is left are scars from the tubes.
CBS
It's unthinkable for any parent: your child needs a sudden heart transplant, but is too sick to get it.
One parent had to go through just that, but doctors at the University of Minnesota Children's Hospital Fairview brought a new device to Minnesota to help their little boy's heart heal.
Just eight months ago, doctors thought Stevon Stibbins might not live to age three.
"Stevon came in on an ECMO circuit -- swollen, kidneys not working, liver not working, in very poor shape," said Dr. James St. Louis.
A virus had attacked his heart and his body was too sick for a heart transplant, so his mom and the doctors at Fairview decided to implant a device that's being tested, but isn't yet approved by the FDA.
"If I wouldn't have done it, he could only be on ECMO (a device to help his heart) for so long and there was nothing else," said Sheree Stibbins, Stevon's mom.
It's called a Berlin Heart -- it's basically a heart on the outside of your body. Stevon was the first child in Minnesota to get one.
He was hooked to a machine all the time and his blood was pumped through a device.
"It doesn't, per se, heal the heart, but it stabilizes and supports the body -- the kidneys, the liver, the brain -- to a point where the heart may be able to take over again," said St. Louis.
Since Stevon's case, doctors have implanted the heart in three other kids. One died of a stroke, another is still on the heart and doing OK, and a third has fully recovered.
"I think it will change the way we think about how we list patients, how we support patients. And I think it is a lifesaver," said St. Louis.
Now, Dr. St. Louis said Fairview may be able to take sicker patients and keep them alive longer until the right heart arrives.
"That is the work of god, that is the pure work of god," said Stevon's mom.
Stevon's heart is healthy again, all that is left are scars from the tubes.
In his case, doctors had to get an FDA exemption to use the heart.
Their results were so successful, that the University of Minnesota Children's Hospital Fairview is now part of the FDA study.
There is a fund to help with Stevon Stibbin's medical costs. Donations can be made at any U.S. Bank under his name.
(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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