The Nation - News from Jan. 27, 1987
A 63-year-old man was in critical condition after receiving a second heart in a “piggyback†transplant procedure performed in only 5% of all heart transplant operations, Mercy Hospital Medical Center officials in Des Moines, Iowa, said. Dr. Steve Phillips, one of two surgeons who operated on John Justice, said the two hearts will function as one. He said the only heart available was from a donor 30 pounds lighter than Justice, so it would not have been strong enough on its own for Justice’s body.
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