MANKATO, Minn. — A Mankato woman who was hospitalized with a failing transplanted heart was doing well after undergoing lifesaving surgery once again, the Mayo Clinic said Friday.
Alyssa Sandeen, 23, received her second heart Thursday night, 15 years after her first heart transplant at age 8, said her father, Christopher Sandeen.
His daughter learned earlier in the day that a donor heart had become available.
"Alyssa's the one that called me," her father told the (Mankato) Free Press (http://bit.ly/17oM5GJ). "It was kind of hard for her to talk. She was so emotional."
Her surgeon, Dr. Richard Daly, said her new heart was working well Friday and her vital signs were very good. He cautioned, though, that it was too early to make predictions on her recovery.
Christopher Sandeen said he reminded his daughter that even when people are told they've been offered a heart complications can arise at the last minute.
"I reminded her of that possibility. I didn't want her to get her hopes up too high," he said. "And she said, 'Yeah, I've been thinking about that.'"
The donated heart was compatible and surgeons at St. Marys Hospital in Rochester performed the transplant. Sandeen's condition was not immediately available Friday.
