Local News in Brief : Newport Beach : 2 Heart Transplants Performed at Hoag
Two patients were in critical but stable condition Thursday at Hoag Memorial Hospital Presbyterian after both received new hearts Wednesday, officials reported.
It is rare to perform two heart transplants at the same hospital in one day, said Dr. Aidan A. Raney, but the two surgeries were performed because two donor hearts become available on the same day, he said.
The first went to Mary Kachaturoff, 56, of Mission Viejo, who suffered from cardiomyopathy, a disease of the heart muscle. Kachaturoff, the first woman to undergo a transplant in Orange County, received the heart of a 13-year-old Southern California girl during the 9 a.m. operation.
Ten hours later, Robert Morse, 54, of Huntington Beach received the heart of a 28-year-old man from San Bernardino County. Morse suffered from a weakening of the heart muscle due to inadequate blood flow, secondary to coronary artery disease.
The two transplants were Hoag’s fourth and fifth since its heart transplant program began in April. The operations were performed by Raney and Dr. Douglas R. Zusman, who previously performed transplants at Stanford University Medical Center and Sharp Memorial Hospital in San Diego.
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