Michigan
Ferndale man receives first beating-heart transplant in Michigan
Henry Ford Health surgeons perform 1st beating-heart transplants in Michigan
With the beating-heart transplant technique, the donor heart does not have to be stopped a second time; it keeps beating as it is placed inside the patient.
DETROIT (FOX 2) – Michigan’s first two beating-heart transplants took place at Henry Ford Health in Detroit recently.
On his 58th birthday, Ken Miller of Ferndale was given the news that he would be undergoing the first-ever beating-heart transplant in the state.
Now, he is in the process of recovering.
“I didn’t expect to be feeling this well,” Miller said. “I’m feeling great and blessed.”
Miller had been in heart failure for more than a decade. He spent 25 days in a hospital bed, on a machine, prior to receiving his new heart –and a kidney– on May 31.
“I’m really excited about this outcome and excited about how well this heart worked,” said cardiac transplant surgeon at Henry Ford Health, Dr. Kyle Miletic.
Ken Miller of Ferndale underwent Michigan’s first ever beating-heart transplant on May 31, 2024. (Provided by Henry Ford Health)
Heart transplantation has come a long way.
Generally, a donor heart is good for about four hours, which limits how far away a donor heart can come from. However, the “heart in a box” technology has been a breakthrough – which is a mini heart lung machine that keeps the heart beating.
But still, the heart has to be stopped, twice, before being transplanted.
“We are always very concerned every time we have to stop the heart. Now, it’s inevitable. It’s going to have to be stopped once at the donor hospital to put it on this box, but the problem is we have to stop it a second time,” Miletic said.
That can be problematic. But with the beating heart transplant technique, the donor heart does not have to be stopped a second time; it keeps beating.
“We hooked the donor heart up to his own blood stream. Once it came from the box, his blood was providing that blood and the nutrients to his new heart, and we sewed it in again as it was beating,” Miletic said.
Henry Ford surgeons performed a second beating-heart transplant just last week. That heart came from about 2,000 miles away.
“Despite being the furthest distance we’ve ever traveled – really woke up right away with no issues, and that patient is doing extremely well and has excellent cardiac function,” the doctor said.
The new technique is not only revolutionary for heart transplant patients, but liver and lung patients as well.
As for Miller, he’s ready to get back on his feet and back to his family.
“I look forward to just being able to move, walk, go upstairs,” he said. “All the things we take for granted.”
Morning 4 is a quick roundup of stories we think you should know about to start your day. So, let’s get to the news.
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LANSING, Mich. (WLNS) — Experts say that the bear population has recently increased in Michigan’s lower peninsula, leading to a similar rise in close encounters—including those here in mid-Michigan.
Last Sunday, on Ruess Rd in Owosso, a road she drives on almost every day, Emalee Harmon saw something she never expected.
“We were absolutely shocked,” said Harmon. “We were just kinda speechless and couldn’t get over the fact that we just saw a bear.”
She was on her way back from getting ice cream with her family when she and her husband noticed a bear. They pulled over and took photos.
“We had never seen a bear in the wild, and we knew that it was not normal to see them this far in the south,” said Harmon.
Just a few days later, another bear was spotted in Bath Township. Ron Jackson posted a photo of the bear on Facebook.
While it is unlikely, seeing a bear in mid-Michigan is not as rare as you might think. According to the Michigan Department of Natural Resources, there are around 12,000 bears in the state: 10,000 in the Upper Peninsula and 2000 in the northern Lower Peninsula.
Black bears are the only bears in Michigan, and because they fear humans, they don’t pose a major safety risk. However, experts say there are things to keep in mind if you do run into one. The DNR created the acronym “SMART” to help people understand what to do in this situation.
- Stand your ground. Do not run or play dead if you encounter a black bear.
- Make loud noises and back away slowly.
- Always provide an escape route for the bear
- Rarely do black bears attack, but if they do- fight back
- Treat bears with respect from a distance. Never intentionally feed a bear.
To learn more about black bears in Michigan, visit michigan.gov.
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