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Patient from Florence receives heartfelt birthday gift by Jessica Johnson Of The Post and Courier Staff A well-wisher following the story of a Florence boy who needed a new heart hoped the MUSC patient would receive one for his birthday on April 18.   That gift for Joseph Greenwood, 5, came at 3 a.m. Friday. Friends and family, including his aunt, Phyllis Walterhouse of Mount Pleasant, stood by as Joseph underwent hours of surgery.   “He got an early birthday present,” Walterhouse said. “That’s what we’ve been saying.”   Joseph, son of Angela and Stephen Greenwood, made medical history last week when he became the first child in South Carolina to receive a Berlin Heart ventricular assist device. Medical University of South Carolina doctors implanted the external heart pumps April 4. Joseph suffered from a rare weakening of the heart muscles, which caused an enlarged heart. The device, awaiting approval from the Food and Drug Administration, doubled Joseph’s chances of survival. By Thursday, he was up and walking.   “He looked better than he had been in a long time,” Walterhouse said.   Family and friends never suspected that a donor heart would be available so soon. “We are shocked,” Angela Greenwood said, “but we are very happy.” Greenwood said Joseph is doing so well that doctors removed his breathing tube less than seven hours after surgery. Once Joseph is released from Medical University Hospital, he and his mom will need a temporary home in the area. Joseph will need daily checkups for up to three months.   “Angela, Stephen and our family have received beautiful e-mails and heartfelt messages,” Walterhouse said. “That has meant so much to our family. We are grateful and warmed by the love and support we received from the community as well as across the nation.” Editor’s note: The article ran April 14 in The Post and Courier and is reprinted with permission. Cardiovascular perfusion team shares in patient's success As the saying goes, it takes a village to raise a child, and the same concept can be applied to a complicated heart procedure for one lucky pediatric heart patient at MUSC.   In addition to the skilled cardiovascular surgeons, cardiologists and nurses involved in the first Berlin Heart implantation in South Carolina April 4, the MUSC Cardiovascular Perfusion Program assisted in placing the device in a 5-year-old patient with congestive heart failure. This ventricular assist device is the only one available for pediatric patients, and it is not approved by the Food and Drug Administration in the U.S. despite being widely used in Europe since the early 1990s. It can only be implanted after getting approval from the FDA and the hospital IRB for “compassionate use.”   The young patient marked the 88th time the device has been implanted in this country.   “I think this was a great team effort on the part of all the physicians, nurses, perfusionists and pharmacists,” said Joe Sistino, College of Health Professions’ Cardiovascular Perfusion Program director and one of the lead perfusionists during the surgery. “There were many people who contributed from the ECMO team, the Berlin Heart implant team, and the heart transplant team. Dr. T.Y. Hsia did a wonderful job coordinating the effort and everyone felt part of the team and that their contributions were greatly appreciated. ...The pediatric cardiologists also were very receptive to suggestions made by Berlin Heart on how to manage the patient, and I think that everyone learned a great deal from this experience.”   To prepare for implantation of a device that few in the U.S. have experience with, the clinical specialist from Berlin Heart, Bob Kroslowitz, met with and trained all of the nurses, perfusionists and surgeons involved with the procedure early the day before. MUSC perfusionists learned many things for the first time, including how to do “platelet mapping” to assist with the anticoagulation of the patient following the implant. Seventy percent platelet inhibition is the key to long term success of the device, as with too  little platelet activity the patient bleeds, and with too much the pumps develop clots which can cause strokes.   “Bob works with many large cardiac centers and told me about a very well known pediatric cardiac center where he had to sit down and remind the cardiac surgeons and cardiologists there that they must work together if they want to have a successful outcome,” said Sistino. “On the other hand, Bob was very complimentary regarding the relationships and communication that he witnessed at MUSC. Based on that, he said that he expected an excellent outcome at MUSC because of the high quality of care, and especially the teamwork he observed here. We should all be very proud of this accomplishment.”     Friday, April 27, 2007 Catalyst Online is published weekly, updated as needed and improved from time to time by the MUSC Office of Public Relations for the faculty, employees and students of the Medical University of South Carolina. Catalyst Online editor, Kim Draughn, can be reached at 792-4107 or by email, catalyst@musc.edu. Editorial copy can be submitted to Catalyst Online and to The Catalyst in print by fax, 792-6723, or by email to catalyst@musc.edu. To place an ad in The Catalyst hardcopy, call Island Publications at 849-1778, ext. 201.