6-year-old boy undergoes heart transplant at Mayo

Published 10:37 am Thursday, May 16, 2013

ROCHESTER, Minn. — A 6-year-old boy who has spent the last six months in intensive care has undergone heart transplant surgery at Mayo Clinic in Rochester.

Cameron Ulrich was born with a rare heart defect and has survived in recent months hooked to a machine that functioned as his heart and lungs. The Oak Park Heights boy has been waiting for a heart since mid-October. That finally happened on Wednesday.

The Star Tribune says doctors at Children’s Hospital in Minneapolis implanted a pacemaker when Cameron was just 12 days old. His family says his heart worked fairly well until last year when an echocardiogram revealed the organ was failing.

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Cameron is expected to spend another three months at Mayo recovering.