Director Li explained clearly, and the movements in his hands were also carried out in an orderly manner.
"Because there are coronary arteries and aortas in the myocardium, these blood vessels need to be ligated during the operation."
"The aorta is then cut open and the aortic valve is cut off. The mitral and tricuspid valves are also removed. Connecting cannulas are placed in the mitral and tricuspid valves and sutured to the heart. Then water is injected with a water injector. Check to see if there is any penetration at the suture site.”
"The pulmonary artery is sutured to the artificial pulmonary artery, and the aorta is sutured to the artificial aorta. The artificial artery is about 3 centimeters thick."
"Inject water with the water injector to make sure there is no leakage at the suture site."
"An artificial pericardium is placed around the artificial heart to reduce the stimulation of the surrounding tissue by the artificial heart and reduce the chance of infection."
"The left ventricular assist device is then used to connect the left atrium to the artificial aorta, and the right ventricular assist device is used to connect the right ventricle to the artificial pulmonary artery."
"It is necessary to drain all the air from all the cavities of the heart to prevent gas embolism."
"Finally, let the artificial heart start working, then remove the artificial heart-lung machine, stop the bleeding, close the sternum, suture the incision, and the operation is complete."
At this point, his expression became relaxed, because the operation had reached the final step.
"In terms of the operation process alone, implanting an artificial heart is not a very complicated operation."
"The main difficulty in the operation is to stop the bleeding. The heart as a whole is flexible, so it is easy to tear when the artificial heart is sutured."
"Generally, patients with heart failure have poor heart function, liver function and coagulation mechanism, and they are prone to bleeding."
"However, the more difficult part than stopping the bleeding is the timing of weaning the patient off the artificial heart-lung machine after implanting the artificial heart."
"In other words, the surgical team needs to adjust the speed of the blood pump to control the blood flow of the heart and find the most suitable speed of the artificial heart."
"Normal heart blood flow depends on the body's self-regulation. When you are stressed, blood vessels dilate and blood flow increases; after rest, blood flow will slowly return to normal."
"The blood pump of the artificial heart is advection. Once the speed is fixed, it can only pump blood outward at a fixed blood flow rate and cannot be adjusted dynamically. If the speed is high, it is easy to suck meat and cause damage to the pump; if the speed is low, it will It cannot meet the blood supply needs of the whole body.”
"Since it is difficult to monitor the patient's blood pressure after the artificial heart is implanted, we need to use ultrasound to observe the venous pressure, arterial pressure, ventricular septum, and whether the interatrial septum image is in the center position to find the most appropriate rotation speed."
"The difficulty lies in how to adjust the rotation speed that is most suitable for each person. It usually requires fine-tuning within a certain range."
“Wait a minute—fuck, you’re so awesome!”
Director Li, who was calm and steady, suddenly uttered a curse word and his whole body became excited.
"It's unbelievable. The artificial heart of Sanqing can automatically adjust, control the blood flow of the heart, and find the most suitable speed by itself."
"Normally, after other artificial hearts are implanted, they need to be adjusted by the surgical team to find the most suitable rotational speed. I never expected that Sanqing's artificial heart is so intelligent and achieves complete automatic adjustment."
"Gan, I have never seen such a heaven-defying technology!"
He marveled at it and kept spitting out the fragrance, but his hands didn't pause for a second.
Amid bursts of exclamations, the operation was completed quickly.
Putting down the scalpel, Director Li gently stroked the fine sutures with his hand, feeling the rise and fall of the patient's chest.
For a long time, he couldn't help but lean down, close to the patient's chest, and listen carefully.
Instead of the familiar heartbeat, there was a soft "buzzing" sound.
It was the faint but continuous sound made by the blood rotating in the artificial heart, replacing the thumping sound of the natural heart pumping blood.
At this moment, the rotating artificial heart merges with the remaining half of the heart in the patient's body and continues to bear weight.
Keeping him alive 24 hours a day, all year round.
****
Extremely enjoyable!
This was Zhao Hong's first feeling after waking up.
Fresh air is inhaled through the nose, breathing freely and smoothly without any obstruction.
The heavy weight that had been weighing on my chest for a long time had disappeared.
Breathing became easier and smoother than ever before, and blood rushed throughout the body, bringing a long-lost sense of strength.
At this moment, he felt like he was reborn.
Opening his eyes, he looked at the white ward, which was familiar yet unfamiliar.
Memories came flooding back and were impacting his brain.
He touched his chest unconsciously and felt a long suture line, and he was suddenly confused.
"It looks like I've been rescued again?"
"Yes, I seemed to be watching a video about artificial hearts before I fell into coma."
"I've had surgery? Is it an artificial heart?"
"But why don't I feel anything? I can't find a power cord anywhere in my body. It shouldn't be."
"How do you charge this artificial heart? It has to be recharged, right? How long did I sleep?"
"Oops, it won't be long before the battery runs out."
While he was thinking wildly, the door opened with a bang and a doctor walked in.
Zhao Hong was instantly overjoyed and shouted as if he had grasped a life-saving straw: "Doctor, what on earth is going on with me?"
The doctor looked at him with a smile on his face, as if he were looking at a rare animal.
"He's recovering well. What a loud scream."
"You had an artificial heart transplant yesterday. The prognosis is very good. You can go to work tomorrow and resume a normal diet."
"This is the intensive care unit of the cardiac surgery department. Next, we will observe you for 10-14 days to monitor your physical condition. If complications or adverse reactions occur, we can intervene in time."
"This is the first stage of running-in between man and machine. You have to have blood tests every day to test coagulation function, heartbeat, blood pressure, kidney function, electrolytes, urine output and other indicators."
"One of the most important complications after surgery is bleeding and blood clots. During this period, you need to take anticoagulant drugs on time to prevent the formation of blood clots, so you need to have blood tests every day to adjust the dosage."
The doctor examined his body and carefully explained the postoperative precautions.
"The artificial heart you have installed has no external wires, so the chance of wound infection is low. The shell and pericardium of the artificial heart are made of biological protein materials, and only the core is made of metal. Generally speaking, the rejection reaction will be relatively small. Save money in this aspect A lot of trouble.”
"Remember to charge it every day from now on." The doctor picked up what looked like a power bank from the bedside table and put it in his hand.
"This thing is your lifeblood. You can't forget it wherever you go. Even if you lose your wallet and cell phone, you can't lose this thing."
"There is a battery and controller inside. It can wirelessly charge your artificial heart at any time within three meters. It can last for about 10 hours. There is a power display on it. If it is less than 50%, there will be a reminder, and then you plug it in. Just plug in the power cord and charge.”
"Of course, the battery can also be removed and charged with other chargers, so I suggest you bring two more spare batteries with you if you go out."
"With this thing, your bathing, sports, and swimming will not be affected in the future. Of course, if you go into the water, it is best to put it in a plastic bag and hang it on your body."
"It's not big anyway. It's just bigger and heavier than a mobile phone. I suggest you always carry it in your pocket and develop the habit of carrying it with you."
"The artificial heart in your body also has a built-in power supply. It can last for one or two hours after charging. So if you are at home, you can place it nearby. As long as you are within range, it will automatically charge and stop when full. It is very convenient. "
Zhao Hong was stunned when he heard what the doctor said.
"It's so advanced and can it be charged wirelessly?"
"I don't have to carry a bulky battery around, and I don't have to have a thread coming out of my belly?"
He took the power supply and looked at it again and again. He was surprised and happy. He just felt that he was so lucky.
"Thanks to Sanqing, I can use such a good artificial heart. It's not as troublesome as the patients said. It's really convenient."
The only thing that worries him now is how long this thing will last.
"Doctor, this artificial heart won't break down after a short period of use. How long does it usually last?"
In his mind, Sanqing's products are of good quality and should last two or three years.
Anyway, no matter how long it lasts, you will earn it.
After all, before the heart transplant, the doctor had already issued a critical notice, saying that he would not survive this year.
The doctor pondered for a moment, shook his head and said: "We don't know about this. The estimated service life is at least 15 years. If it is well maintained, it can be used forever, but this is a new product, and you are the first to use it. People, so how long it can be used depends on you."
Zhao Hong breathed a sigh of relief and said with a smile: "It's okay, I picked this life up. As long as I can use it until next year, it's enough. If I use it for one or two more years, I will make a lot of money, haha .”
Over the next few days, he began to slowly recover and work hard to get used to his artificial heart.
His body has to get used to using the artificial heart, and the artificial heart has to adapt to pumping his blood flow.
The two sides continue to work together to form a delicate and stable balance, which is maintained.
As for living habits, they are the same as before, except that there is an extra power supply.
At five o'clock every morning, the first thing he does when he gets up is to put the power supply in his pocket, and then use instruments and smart watches to learn about his body temperature, weight, rotation speed, flow, power, heart rate, blood oxygen and other contents, and register them in his diary. .
He measured his blood pressure five times a day. In fact, the doctor ordered that once in the morning and once in the evening would be enough, but he was worried and would measure it several times a day.
After taking the anticoagulant, he would meet his son at the entrance of the intensive care unit in the afternoon and make a 10-minute phone call through the glass.
Before going to bed at night, the last thing to do is to connect the power supply to the charger and plug it into the bedside socket to charge, so that he can have a good sleep without worrying about what to do if he oversleeps and the power supply runs out.
Over time, he seemed to have a phobia of low battery. He had to carry a power source with him wherever he went and check the battery at any time. He was afraid that an oversight would drain the battery and cause him to go into shock and die.
The doctor was helpless about his obsessive-compulsive disorder and could only let it go.
Ten days after the operation, his physical condition recovered well and he was transferred to the general ward.
After another week, all physical indicators showed good, and he was discharged home.
At this point, his life has returned to normal, no different from before.
You just need to pay attention to staying away from magnetic fields and avoid places like subway security checks.
If you really need to take the subway, show the emergency card issued by the hospital to the staff and explain your situation to avoid going through the equipment.
In order to avoid accidents, he also tried not to go to crowded places or join in the fun.
If the subway is crowded, he will wait for the next one or take a taxi.
The most satisfying thing for him is that he has the strength to walk. After eating every day, he will go out for a walk and complete the amount of exercise required by the doctor, which is usually one kilometer, and sometimes he will walk three to five kilometers.
But he would not leave the community. He would just walk around in the community and stop to chat when he met an acquaintance.
At 60 years old, with a new heart, he is very satisfied to be able to exercise like this.
He gave up his two previous hobbies, drinking and playing cards.
The former is not good for health, and the latter is not good for health because there is second-hand smoke in the chess and card room.
Now he pays special attention to health and even has a new hobby, dancing square dance with the old ladies in the community.
The amount of exercise in square dancing is not large, and he does not need to dance too intensely. It is enough to twist his body casually and feel the freedom.
Standing in the crowd, stepping on the beat, dancing briskly, without even breathing becoming rapid.
There was no trace of the fact that he had ever had an artificial heart inserted into him, and he fit perfectly into this cheerful atmosphere.
Over time, Zhao Hong gradually became accustomed to the existence of the artificial heart, and the so-called precautions became his new habits and integrated into his post-illness life.
He made plans to wear it for life, and the word heart transplant never appeared again, even in his dreams.
"I'll be content if I can live well. Thinking about what happened in the past two months is like a dream."
He often said this to his son, with a satisfied smile on his face.
