In a surgery believed to be the world’s first, a dying heart patient has been saved by a British surgeon who used a combination of an artificial heart and stem cells to rebuild his heart’s damaged muscles.

Greek patient Ioannis Manolopoulos’s heart was fitted with the mechanical pump in Thessaloloniki, Greece, by a team of surgeons led by Professor Stephen Westaby, based at Oxford's John Radcliffe Hospital.

The surgeons injected his heart with six million of his own stem cells extracted from his bone marrow to repair the damaged heart muscles.

Mechanical pump takes the pressure off the damaged part of the heart
The mechanical pump works by diverting the blood away from the damaged pumping chamber of the heart. This procedure allows the damaged part to repair itself.

Professor Westaby said, "The idea of combining a pump is to take the pressure off the wall of the heart and try and give the stem cells a better environment to grow and develop.

"I think it's very promising for the future as the patient is going well and is up and about and making good progress," he added.

Surgeons consider heart pumps could save many lives
Professor Westaby believes that with the aid of these mechanical pumps, many ailing lives could be saved.

Professor Christos Papakonstantinou, heart surgeon at the Ahepa University Hospital in Thessaloniki, also said, "We hope the combination of stem cells and pumps will enable patients to enjoy life for many years."

The surgeons, however, noted that funding could be a problem towards making this procedure a success.

Manolopoulos hopes for a normal life
Manolopoulos, who is recovering after the operation, said, "If things go well, I must go to church and pray because I feel very lucky to get this device and have the chance of a normal life."

He had two heart attacks and none of the treatments had succeeded to improve his condition prior to this surgery.