GROSSE POINTE SHORES, Mich. – A new life-saving technology was used during a heartfelt reunion thanks to the world’s smallest heart pump, Impella, giving patients a second chance at life.
Doctors in Metro Detroit using the breakthrough device were reunited Thursday (Nov. 14) night with patients they saved thanks to the technology, which is only about the size of a pencil tip.
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“It’s placed through the leg of a patient to get to the heart. So that it can pump blood for the heart. To keep a patient alive who’s suffering a massive heart attack or who has heart failure,” said Henry Ford Health Cardiologist Dr. Theodore Schrieber.
Impella is used in cases where patients are too weak for surgery or whose hearts have nearly stopped.
It provides just enough support to keep the blood circulating until a more permanent solution like a stent, bypass surgery, or medication can be used.
Metro Detroit heart patients celebrated their recovery and reunited with the doctors who, thanks to technology, saved their lives.
“It was night and day,” said Impella patient Rogelio Landin. “I remember when I went in, I was back chairing a board meeting 48 hours later.”
“This is really a very rewarding night for us as healthcare providers, and it’s very inspirational for the entire team,” said Henry Ford Health Cardiologist Dr. Amir Kaki.
“We’re very blessed to be here and see our patients,” Schrieber said. “These are individuals that, without the treatment they received, they wouldn’t be here with us.”
It’s a procedure not offered at every hospital, and doctors hope to bring this life-saving technology to more patients in Southeast Michigan.
