John Wallwork, a member of the medical team which carried out the operation in Cambridge, said the metal and plastic device known as a Left Ventricular Assist Device was implanted in the wall of the abdomen and connected to the patient's heart.
Such devices have only previously been used as a "bridge" to help more than 200 patients stay alive until a donor heart became available.
If a pilot study is successful, surgeons believe patients will be discharged wearing a battery pack to drive the electrical pump, which would be attached to a waist belt.
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