Total artificial hearts—machines implanted to completely replace the heart—had been under development since the 1950's, but until 1982, they had only been tested on animals, never successfully implanted in a person. But in 1982, while at the University of Utah, Dr. Lyle Joyce (now one of the Twin City Heart and Lung Surgeons) was privileged to be part of history, as he was a co-surgeon on the team that implanted the world's first total artificial heart in a human patient, retired Seattle dentist Barney Clark.

Dr. Clark had been close to dying, with no recourse for help using other procedures (such as a transplant), so when he lived for 112 days with the artificial heart it was a great success, and landmark proof that life with a total artifical heart was possible. The case was reported nationwide in both the popular and scientific press, and the success of Dr. Clark's case spurred further research and progress in the field.

Continuing his passion for the development of the total artificial heart, Dr. Joyce made history a few years later when he headed the surgical team that was the first to implant an artificial heart in a woman.

Click here for more information about Mary Lund and on the progress of the total artificial heart.