To her mom, Mariam Tannous has earned the nickname Mariam Miracle. About a year ago, the pre-teen became the youngest person in Canada to receive a device known as a total artificial heart.
She had open-heart surgery at the age of three and a heart transplant at age seven, but a steady decline at age 11 culminated in cardiac arrest in June 2021.
Her cardiologist Dr. Aamir Jeewa says that led the medical team to the total artificial heart – a device that can essentially replace an entire human heart for a limited period of time. This is unlike other devices, which are designed to hook up to an existing heart to aid its function. It’s only been used on 58 patients in Canada so far.
Honjo recounts a 14-hour procedure in which he navigated scars from previous operations and had to place Mariam on a cardiopulmonary bypass machine for four-and-a-half hours. “We really wanted to close because obviously it’s hardware sitting in a chest so we can’t afford having the infection. But in her case, that was just too big to close it right away,” says Honjo.
A heart for Mariam became available two months later, leading to another challenge: removing the device and connecting what amounted to her third heart implant. Now there was more scarring at the site, and the too-large device had compressed a systemic vein, says Honjo. Still, transplants are not a cure -- they can only extend one’s life, says Jeewa, and it’s highly likely Mariam’s heart will fail at some point in the future.
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