World's first artificial heart implanted in US

A patient implanted with the world's first self-contained mechanical heart was recovering yesterday after a seven-hour operation.

The procedure, carried out in Louisville, Kentucky, is the first major advance in the development of an artificial replacement heart in nearly two decades. The mechanism, which can be recharged without wires, is said to be less susceptible to infection.

The plastic and metal motorized hydraulic pump, known as the AbioCor, has been in development for 30 years and costs about $75,000 (£53,000). Yet even its developers expect the patient, who has not been identified, will only survive about 60 days – though their life expectancy was just 30 days before the transplant.

The developer, Abiomed, plans to carry out up to 15 transplants to test the functionality of the device.

John Thero, financial director of Abiomed, said: "We are starting with patients who are at the end of their lives. They are not candidates for transplant and are near death. Our goal is to provide them with a reasonable quality of life and an extension of life."

The company's President, David Lederman, said: "Every patient will probably die on the AbioCor. With this new technology, we may have failures."