Medical Miracle
Artificial heart keeps boy alive for record 251 days
Joe Skerratt, fit and well after 251 days with an artificial heart. PHOTO: BBC
A three-year-old boy has been kept alive with an artificial heart for more than eight months, which doctors say is a record for a child in the UK. Joe Skerratt from Gillingham, Kent, was diagnosed with dilated cardiomyopathy, which meant his heart struggled to pump blood around his body. He was temporarily fitted with a Berlin heart (an artificial heart), to give his own a helping hand. After 251 days, he finally had a heart transplant last year. Dr Alessandro Giardini, consultant paediatric cardiologist at Great Ormond Street, said that we are really delighted to see Joe doing so well and thriving at home. He spent a long time with us in hospital.
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