Encinitas : 2nd Transplant of Heart in County
A 48-year-old computer designer and programmer from Encinitas on Monday became the second person to receive a heart transplant in San Diego County, a spokeswoman for Sharp Memorial Hospital said.
George Asuncion, a husband and father of two teen-agers, emerged from the successful four-hour operation about 11:30 a.m., said Cindy Cohagen, Sharp’s director of communications.
Asuncion had been suffering from heart disease for which there was no effective treatment, Cohagen said. The hospital identified the donor only as an adult from the Southwestern United States.
The transplant was performed by a team led by Drs. Pat O. Daily, Aidan A. Raney and Douglas Zusman--the team that performed San Diego’s first heart transplant on Oct. 11. Gary Grissom, the recipient of the first transplant, is expected to leave the hospital within a week, Cohagen said.
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