Six years ago Douglas Wiley was diagnosed with acromegaly, a rare disorder where too much growth hormone causes the body and heart to enlarge.
The condition strikes 117 of 1 million people a year. If left untreated, Wiley's inflamed, weakened heart eventually would have failed.
But last month, the north Idaho man went from medical patient to medical pioneer: Wiley is the fourth person in the United States --first in the Intermountain West -- to receive the Utah-made Levacor Ventricular Assist Device (VAD), a heart pump that will keep him alive while he waits for a heart transplant.
The device, manufactured by Salt Lake City-based WorldHeart Corporation, was implanted by a University of Utah cardiologist as part of a "bridge to transplant" clinical trial under way since January. It's the sixth successful Levacor implant worldwide and the future of treatment for people with heart failure, said Craig Selzman, the cardiothoracic surgeon who performed the procedure.
For Wiley, who was discharged from the hospital Thursday after just nine days in recovery and two weeks of rehabilitation, the technological advance means resuming an active life.
"I can't wait to spend time with my daughter and ride motorcycles," said the 44-year-old at a news conference Thursday. "I'm still a little sore, but I feel better than I have in six years. Before, I had trouble even carrying on a conversation."
Developed as a spinoff from research at the U., the device is another "proud" step in an artificial heart program dating back to 1967, when Willem Kolff moved to the university and began experimenting with artificial organs, said Selzman. Once the clinical trial concludes, the company will seek approval from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to market the $75,000 device.
There are already several FDA-approved heart pumps on the market. But Selzman said the Levacor VAD was optimal for Wiley, because "it's large enough for someone his size."
What also makes it unique is that it uses magnetic levitation to fully suspend a spinning rotor -- its only moving part -- which means there is no friction, said Selzman. "With earlier generations of pumps, there were problems with blood sticking around fixed parts, which would lead to clotting and a stroke."
Reduced friction also means greater durability, said Selzman. "Most break down after a year and a half. This one could probably last forever."
When he feels up to it -- Wiley is banking on a year -- he will return to the U. and be placed at the top of the priority list for a donor heart.
In another clinical trial in Greece, the pump was successfully implanted in two "bridge to recovery" patients, serving as a temporary crutch for their recovering sick hearts, said one of its creators, Pratap Khanwilkar, a vice president at WorldHeart. "It's a dream come true for me. My father died of ever-worsening heart failure."
And one day, VADs are expected to be a permanent alternative therapy for advanced heart failure patients. There are about 150,000 people in the U.S. who fall into this category, and only 2,000 donor hearts available in any given year.
Selzman described Wiley's surgery, performed on St. Patrick's Day, as fairly "straightforward."
"What makes it difficult" he said, "is sometimes the patients are very ill."
An otherwise healthy Wiley started feeling ill six years ago when he started experiencing what he thought were panic attacks. After much poking and prodding, doctors ordered brain surgery to remove a tumor from his pituitary gland, which was secreting too much growth hormone, causing his hands and feet and organs to enlarge.
But the damage to Wiley's body was done. He has been hospitalized for kidney failure and twice for heart failure.
"The pump couldn't have come at a better time," said his wife Patty.
Wiley will stay in Salt Lake for awhile before returning home, at which point he'll be accompanied by a support team who will train his primary care physician to troubleshoot the pump.
The VAD is powered by a rechargeable battery pack, which Wiley will have to switch out about every four to five hours. He jokes he won't be able to play "contact sports," or go swimming.
But he is free to exercise.
"It's amazing. I can't feel it. It doesn't vibrate or anything," said Wiley. "And it's so compact, I can tuck it into my sweatshirt and no one will know I have it."
