Dad is first in UK to be allowed home with artificial heart

A DAD unveiled as the first person in the UK to go home with a full artificial heart had a scare today — when it blurted out an alarm at a press conference.

Doctors rushed to check if the device was working correctly as Matthew Green told reporters: "If I get stressed it (the implant) doesn't like it."
Mr Green underwent a gruelling six-hour op last month where surgeons replaced his failing heart with a fake one.
The ground-breaking SynCardia total artificial heart serves the role of both ventricles and heart valves and is powered by a "freedom portable driver", which is worn like a backpack or shoulder bag.
Until now patients who have had a similar transplant have been hospital-bound, but the creation of the portable device means Mr Green is the first to be able to go home.
The 40-year-old — who was critically ill and suffering from end-stage failure of both chambers of his heart — was today preparing to leave Papworth Hospital, near Cambridge, to the delight of wife Gill and son Dylan, five.
Mr Green said: "Two years ago I was cycling nine miles to work and nine miles back every day but by the time I was admitted to hospital I was struggling to walk even a few yards.
"I am really excited about going home and just being able to do the everyday things that I haven't been able to do for such a long time such as playing in the garden with my son and cooking a meal for my family.
"I want to thank all the wonderful staff at Papworth Hospital who have been looking after me and who have made it possible for me to return home to my family."

Relief ... Matthew Green with wife Gill and son Dylan, five

The transplant team at Papworth, led by consultant cardiothoracic surgeon and director of the transplant service Steven Tsui, underwent training in Paris before the op.
They also received assistance from Latif Arusoglu, an expert total artificial heart surgeon from Bad Oeynhausen, Germany.
The operation — which has also been completed successfully in the United States and parts of Europe — could help cut transplant waiting times in the future.
Mr Tsui said: "At any point in time there may be as many as 30 people waiting for a heart transplant on our waiting list at Papworth, with one third waiting over a year.