The University of Ottawa Heart Institute has completed its 700th heart transplant – almost 36 years after pioneering cardiac surgeon Dr. Wilbert Keon performed the first transplant in this city.
A team of doctors, surgeons, anesthesiologists and nurses completed the milestone 700th transplant despite the challenges imposed by the COVID-19 pandemic.
The heart institute conducts as many as 36 transplants each year. The operation is performed on people whose hearts can no longer pump enough blood to meet the needs of their bodies.
“Transplanting a heart is no small task: It is an immensely complex procedure that requires collaboration across disciplines and a significant level of technical skill and ability,” said Dr. Marc Ruel, head of cardiac surgery at the institute. “I am elated for our transplant team and especially for our patient, who is now comfortably recovering in hospital with a new heart and a new lease on life.”
Founded in 1976 in an office above a parking garage, the University of Ottawa Heart Institute is now Canada’s largest medical centre dedicated to understanding, treating and preventing heart disease. Dr. Keon, who died last year at the age of 83, performed Ottawa’s first heart transplant on May 29, 1984.
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