Memorial's Heart Transplant Program Celebrates 10 Years of Life-Saving Impact
Updated: Dec 20, 2024
More than ten years after she received the first adult heart transplant in Broward County, Marina Alix still gets emotional when she thinks back to that time. “I’m alive,” she says in Spanish, “and I cry because I was on the verge of dying.”
Dr. Iani Patsias, Marina Alix
In 2014, Alix was suffering from end-stage heart failure due to dilated cardiomyopathy. With Memorial Cardiac and Vascular Institute having gotten approval to perform adult heart transplants earlier that year, and an appropriate donor heart available, the Davie resident underwent surgery that September.
In the 10 years since Alix’s surgery, Memorial’s program has successfully transplanted nearly 140 hearts, including 35 already this year. That’s more than a 200% increase from 2023 for a subspecialty that is performed by only three healthcare systems in South Florida and just eight in the entire state.
Dr. Patsias says it takes robust expertise and a multi-disciplinary approach to handle the most complicated cardiac cases. “This institution provided all the services Marina needed to do this well. She’s gone from a sick and frail lady to being an active abuela to a one-year-old.”
Alix also underwent a successful kidney transplant at Memorial this year. “We want people to fulfill what they want for their lives, and whatever that means to the patient, we’d like to empower that,” said Dr. Patsias. “In Marina’s case, seeing that she is doing so well is fuel to the soul.”
Marina's Story - 10th Anniversary of Memorial's First Adult Heart Transplant
Memorial’s transplant institute specializes in heart and kidney surgeries for adults and kids (at Joe DiMaggio Children’s Hospital) and has, on four occasions, transplanted both organs at the same time. It is also the only center in Broward County performing pancreas transplants.
The Memorial Cardiac and Vascular Institute’s division of Advanced Heart Failure and Heart Transplant has locations in Hollywood, Pembroke Pines, and Miramar. To learn more or make an appointment, call 954-265-7750.
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Memorial Cardiac and Vascular Institute is a cardiovascular care leader, offering a wide array of services dedicated to the prevention, detection, treatment, and rehabilitation of heart and vascular conditions, including cardiology, electrophysiology, adult congenital heart disease, heart failure, heart surgery and heart transplant. Its combination of extraordinary medical expertise, advanced technology, and exacting quality guidelines deliver the best possible outcomes for those receiving care tailored to their specific needs.
Part of Memorial Healthcare System, Memorial Cardiac and Vascular Institute is South Florida’s only Comprehensive Care Center accredited by the Adult Congenital Heart Association and the only center in Florida accredited by the American College of Cardiology with its Heart Failure with Outpatient Services designation.
For more information on total heart care, visit them at mhs.net/services/cardiac-vascular.