Artificial heart placed in second patient

LOUISVILLE, Ky -- A man was implanted with a self-contained artificial heart Thursday, becoming only the second patient in the world to receive the experimental device.

The softball-sized device was implanted into the chest of a 70-year-old man Thursday morning at Jewish Hospital, according to Abiomed Inc., the device's maker. The first implant was performed at the same hospital.

"The patient is now recovering in the intensive care unit at Jewish Hospital," Abiomed said in a news release.

The hospital said the man was resting comfortably. It declined to release any further details.

The surgery was performed by University of Louisville surgeons Laman Gray Jr. and Robert Dowling, who also implanted the AbioCor artificial heart in the chest of Robert Tools on July 2.

Tools, 59, was recently removed from intensive care, and his surgeons say the artificial heart has worked flawlessly.

The company declined to release the name of Thursday's patient, but The News-Enterprise of Elizabethtown identified the second patient as Tom Christerson of Central City, Ky.

The softball-sized pump has no wires or tubes that stick out of the chest. An internal battery and controller regulate the pumping speed, and an external battery powers the device by passing electricity through the skin.