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MGH patient marks a milestone with
new heart
Celebrating 20 years of the MGH cardiac
transplantation program
BOSTON - November 4, 2005 - John Scripter, age 65, walked
into the Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) Friday to celebrate
a remarkable milestone - the 20 year anniversary with his transplanted
heart. Scripter was the first patient at the MGH to undergo a cardiac
transplantation. He returned to the hospital for a routine checkup
with his cardiologists, and the important anniversary did not go
unnoticed. Scripter's caregivers planned a reception to honor him
and the 20 years of the MGH Cardiac Transplantation Program.
For Scripter, a father of nine and a New Hampshire native, it was
a different story back in 1985. He was unable to work because a
heart attack had considerably weakened his heart, despite a pair
of bypass surgeries and a mitral valve replacement. So in November
1985, surgeons replaced Scripter's heart. Marshall Jacobs, MD, then
surgical director of the MGH Cardiac Transplantation Program, lead
the surgical team. Days after the procedure, Scripter said he hadn't
felt as good in 15 years.
An innovative arrangement among four Boston teaching hospitals
enabled the MGH to perform this first procedure in its Cardiac Transplantation
Program. The heart transplant consortium - which also included Brigham
and Women's Hospital, New England Medical Center and Children's
Hospital - convinced the Massachusetts Department of Public Health
of the merits of permitting heart transplants to be performed at
more than one institution in the city. Each member of the consortium,
collectively called the Boston Center for Heart Transplantation,
agreed to abide by uniform selection criteria and cooperate in research
and patient care. It is the only network in the country that facilitates
and shares a region-wide list of candidates waiting transplantation
that is available to all transplant centers to review at any time.
The group still meets monthly and serves as an organizational model
for cooperation in transplant listing and management throughout
the country.
G. William Dec, MD, was the original medical director of the Heart
Failure and Transplantation Program at the MGH, and he was among
the team of doctors to see Scripter through the first transplantation
at MGH. Dec, now chief of Cardiology at the MGH, continues to care
for his patient through periodic checkups. Dec was present in the
operating room for the transplant 20 years ago and was on hand Friday
at the reception at the hospital. Marc Semigran, MD, the current
medical director of the Heart Failure and Transplantation Program
and Joren Madsen, MD, the surgical director of the Cardiac Transplantation
Program were also at the event. Even Jacobs called from Philadelphia
to offer Scripter his regards. He is now chief of Pediatric Cardiothoracic
Surgery at St. Christopher's Hospital for Children in Philadelphia,
PA.
Massachusetts General Hospital, established in 1811, is the original
and largest teaching hospital of Harvard Medical School. The MGH
conducts the largest hospital-based research program in the United
States, with an annual research budget of nearly $500 million and
major research centers in AIDS, cardiovascular research, cancer,
cutaneous biology, medical imaging, neurodegenerative disorders,
transplantation biology and photomedicine. In 1994, MGH and Brigham
and Women's Hospital joined to form Partners HealthCare System,
an integrated health care delivery system comprising the two academic
medical centers, specialty and community hospitals, a network of
physician groups, and nonacute and home health services.
Media Contact: Emily
Parker, MGH Public
Affairs
Physician Referral Service: 1-800-388-4644
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