5-year-old Joseph Greenwood is the first patient in South Carolina to have received an EXCOR® Pediatric Ventricular Assist Device. In March 2006 Joseph had suffered what seemed like a bad flu in but really was a virus damaged his heart muscle severely. In August 2006 doctors implanted Joseph with a defibrillator to help his weakened heart keep its rhythm. All went well until March 2007 when Joseph collapsed on the family porch and had to be airlifted to the University Hospital of South Carolina.

Joseph was put on an ECMO, a heart-lung machine that is used to support patients for a limited time span and requires the patient to be intubated and sedated. The condition of Joseph’s lung deteriorated as the days went by. Doctors decided he neeed to get off the ECMO, and applied to the FDA for compassionate use of the Berlin Heart EXCOR Pediatric. As soon as the approval was gained and the equipment arrived from Germany, the system was implanted into Joseph.

After the operation, Joseph’s parents were relieved to see their son’s condition improving by the day. He no longer needed to be intubated and started to speak and smile again. The condition of his lungs began to improve.

When a donor heart became available only nine days after the operation, Joseph’s health status had greatly improved and his prognosis for a successful heart transplant was much better than before. The EXCOR® Pediatric was removed and the new heart was transplanted in a nine-hour surgery.

Joseph is recovering very well and is getting ready to leave the hospital and head back home to his family. Thanks to EXCOR® Pediatric, Joseph’s doctors were able to wait for the ideal donor heart, giving Joseph the best second chance at life.

Several newspapers (USA Today, Star News, The Herald, The Beaufort Gazette) and TV stations (ABC) reported on Joseph’s story.