Haifa hospital tests first implant for heart failure

Canadian patient flew to Israel for the procedure after his wife read about the experimental implant online and his cardiologist encouraged him.

ISRAEL21c

Health and Medicine | Comments | September 6, 2017

Cardiologist Gil Bolotin checking patient Robert MacLachlan, the first in the world to receive the CORolla implant, at Rambam Health Care Campus, Haifa. Photo by Pioter Fliter/RHCC

A 72-year old Canadian man has become the world’s first recipient of an Israeli-developed implant to treat diastolic heart failure – a fairly common condition for which there is no effective long-term treatment. The minimally invasive surgery was performed on July 26th at Rambam Health Care Campus, a medical center in Haifa, by a multidisciplinary team led by cardiologists Gil Bolotin, director of cardiac surgery, and Arthur Kerner, senior physician in the Interventional Cardiology Unit.

The implant, called CORolla, was developed by Israeli startup CorAssist Cardiovascular of Haifa

The implant, called CORolla, was developed by Israeli startup CorAssist Cardiovascular of Haifa. The elastic device is implanted inside the left ventricle of the heart and can improve cardiac diastolic function by applying direct expansion force on the ventricle wall to help the heart fill with blood. The CorAssist technology was invented by Dr. Yair Feld, a Rambam cardiologist, with doctors Yotam Reisner and Shay Dubi. The patient, Robert MacLachlan, explained that he had run out of treatment options in Canada for his diastolic heart failure. His wife had read about the CORolla implant on the Internet and contacted Dr. Karen Bitton Worms, head of research in the department of cardiac surgery at Rambam. MacLachlan’s cardiologist encouraged him to apply to have the experimental procedure in Israel. -- More...

Email Us | Reader Friendly | Comments

ISRAEL21c——Bio and Archives

ISRAEL21c was founded in 2001, in the wake of the Second Intifada, to broaden public understanding of Israel beyond typical portrayals in the mainstream media.

The organization’s founders – Israeli-American technology executives – understood the great power of the Internet and developed a first-of-its kind online product with global appeal and reach.