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Seventeen Years Later, Transplanted Heart Still Strong

On Dec. 17, 1984, William "Les" Brown, of Chicago received an early Christmas gift: a new heart and a second chance at life. Today, Brown is an active 61 year old and an inspiration to the hundreds of heart transplant recipients at Loyola University Health System (LUHS) who have come after him.

Brown's heart trouble began when he had a heart attack at only 30 years of age. Afterward, he learned he had severe hardening of the arteries. Brown underwent triple bypass surgery, but he continued to experience blockages in his arteries, according to Barbara Pisani, D.O, a cardiologist in LUHS' Heart Transplant Program.

Brown's heart deteriorated to the point that he became a good candidate for heart transplantation. At the time, it was an innovative procedure that only a handful of medical centers nationwide were able to perform.

Only two months after he was put on the transplant waiting list, Brown learned that a heart was available. An hour later, he was in surgery.

Coincidentally, the donor heart came from Brown's hometown, Atlanta. While Brown was in surgery, his family in Atlanta heard a report about a 19-year-old man killed in a car accident whose heart would be donated to a recipient at Loyola. The recipient, of course, was Les Brown.

The science of heart transplantation has come a long way since 1984. For example, Brown's new heart was sewn into place with a technique that is no longer used. After the surgery, Brown stayed in the hospital for nearly a month. These days, the average hospital stay for a heart transplant recipient is only a week.

In addition to the process of physical healing, Brown wanted to come to terms emotionally with the transplant. "My heart had been part of my body for so long, I missed it. I needed closure with it," he said. Brown was allowed to hold his heart in his hands for a few minutes and view the badly damaged areas. "I said goodbye to my old heart and was able to accept my new one. It was very therapeutic," he said.

Eleven years after his operation, Brown developed coronary artery blockages that were a direct result of the transplantation (about 10 percent of transplant recipients develop this condition). Fortunately, a single bypass procedure along with dietary treatments corrected the problem.

Today, Brown works as the policy director for the Chicago Coalition for the Homeless, which he founded two decades ago. His wife, Diana, helps him maintain a healthy lifestyle. He is a vegetarian and no longer drinks or smokes.

The transplanted heart has bought him time to serve the homeless, spend time with his family, which includes two children and two grandchildren, and enjoy his other hobbies: playing piano, fishing, hiking and biking.

"Nearly 17 years after receiving a donor heart, Les is still active," Pisani said. "He shows that it is possible."

For his part, Brown says he loves Loyola. "I am grateful for my heart, the physicians, the great medical care over the years and for my life."

Some Facts About Loyola:

• Oldest and largest Heart Transplantation Program in Illinois
• One of the nation's highest survival rates for heart transplant recipients
• 555 hearts transplants since 1984.
• First in Illinois to perform a hear-lung transplant
• 900 open-heart procedures annually
• 1200 - 1500 non-surgical procedures annually
• 250 - 300 angioplasties annually
• One of the top centers for mitral valve repair

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