读者文摘:他修复了自己的心脏

When Tal Golesworthy was told he needed lifesaving heart surgery in 1993, he said no.

1993年，当塔尔·高尔斯沃西被告知他需要接受拯救生命的心脏手术时，他说不。

Golesworthy has Marfan syndrome¹, a genetic² condition affecting the strength and elasticity³ of connective body tissues, including blood vessels⁴.

高尔斯沃西患有马凡氏综合症，这是一种影响结缔组织（包括血管）强度和弹性的遗传病。

Back in 1993, when he was living in Cheltenham, in the west of England,

早在1993年，他住在英格兰西部的切尔滕纳姆时，

his doctor told him that a major artery⁵ in his heart, the aorta⁶, was so enlarged that it would inevitably⁷ rupture⁸ unless he underwent major surgery.

他的医生就说，他心脏里的一条大动脉，即主动脉过度增大，如果不做大手术，它将不可避免地破裂。

"They talked through the surgical⁹ options," says Golesworthy, "and I was not interested.

“他们讨论了手术的选择，” 高尔斯沃西说，“我对此不感兴趣。

The operation really didn't look attractive."

手术看起来并不具有吸引力。”

What he particularly didn't like was having to be on blood thinners after the operation,

他特别不喜欢的是术后必须使用血液稀释剂，

something that would prevent blood clots¹⁰ but presented its own risks:

这种方法可以防止血栓形成，但也有风险：

"I was riding motorbikes then, and skiing, so my whole lifestyle would have been affected¹¹."

“当时我骑摩托车、滑雪，所以我的整个生活方式都会受到影响。”

By 2000, however, his condition had worsened. Realizing something had to be done,

然而到了2000年，他的病情恶化。高尔斯沃西意识到必须做些什么，

Golesworthy put his years of experience as research-and-development engineer with the United Kingdom's National Coal Board to good use.

他充分利用自己在英国国家煤炭委员会（National Coal Board）担任研发工程师的多年经验。

He decided¹² he would fix himself. "Learning new stuff and developing new ideas, that was my job," Golesworthy says.

他决定自己进行修复，高尔斯沃西说：“学习新东西，发展新思想，这是我的工作。”。

A bulging¹³ aorta, he reckoned, was much like a bulging hydraulic¹⁴ hose—it needed external support.

他认为，鼓起的主动脉就像一个膨胀的液压软管，需要外部支撑。

And wrapping something around the outside of the aorta would require a less invasive operation.

在主动脉外包裹一些东西需要实施较少的侵入性手术，

So Golesworthy subjected himself to 30 hours in an MRI scanner;

因此，高尔斯沃西接受了30个小时的核磁共振扫描；

used 3D printing to create a physical replica¹⁵ of the faulty part of his heart (the aortic¹⁶ root);

使用3D打印技术制作了心脏缺陷部位（主动脉根部）的物理复制品；

and then used soft, porous¹⁷ textile mesh¹⁸ to make a sleeve to fit around it.

然后用柔软、多孔的织物网制作了一个袖子，使其能套在周围。

"Luckily, I'd done a lot of work with technical textiles, looking at filters for flue gases in coal-fire processes," he says.

他说，“幸运的是，我在技术性纺织品方面做过很多工作，以研究燃煤过程中的烟气过滤器。”。

Sheer determination coupled with an original yet practical solution won him the support of two leading cardiothoracic surgeons

坚定的决心加上独创而务实的解决方案，为他赢得了两位顶尖心胸外科医师的支持，

and helped him raise the money to develop his idea.

帮助筹集资金来拓展他的想法。

In May 2004, at the age of 47, he became the guinea pig for his own invention, the ExoVasc Personalised External Aortic Root Support (PEARS).

2004年5月，47岁的他成为了他自己发明物的实验对象，这项发明是血管外个性化体外主动脉根部支撑（PEARS）。

The operation was a success.

手术很成功。

It has since been used by surgeons in the United Kingdom, Ireland, Belgium, Czech Republic, New Zealand, Australia, and the Netherlands.

此后，英国、爱尔兰、比利时、捷克共和国、新西兰、澳大利亚和荷兰的外科医生都在使用这种方法。

"When you're as motivated as I was," Golesworthy told mosaic¹⁹.com, "you make things happen."

“当你像我一样受到驱动时，就会让促使事情发生。”戈尔斯沃西接受mosaic.com网站采访时说道。

1 syndrome   

n.综合病症；并存特性

参考例句：

• The Institute says that an unidentified virus is to blame for the syndrome. 该研究所表示,引起这种综合症的是一种尚未确认的病毒。
• Results indicated that 11 fetuses had Down syndrome. 结果表明有11个胎儿患有唐氏综合征。

2 genetic   

adj.遗传的，遗传学的

参考例句：

• It's very difficult to treat genetic diseases.遗传性疾病治疗起来很困难。
• Each daughter cell can receive a full complement of the genetic information.每个子细胞可以收到遗传信息的一个完全补偿物。

3 elasticity   

n.弹性，伸缩力

参考例句：

• The skin eventually loses its elasticity.皮肤最终会失去弹性。
• Every sort of spring has a definite elasticity.每一种弹簧都有一定的弹性。

4 vessels   

n.血管( vessel的名词复数 )；船；容器；（具有特殊品质或接受特殊品质的）人

参考例句：

• The river is navigable by vessels of up to 90 tons. 90 吨以下的船只可以从这条河通过。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• All modern vessels of any size are fitted with radar installations. 所有现代化船只都有雷达装置。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

5 artery   

n.干线，要道；动脉

参考例句：

• We couldn't feel the changes in the blood pressure within the artery.我们无法感觉到动脉血管内血压的变化。
• The aorta is the largest artery in the body.主动脉是人体中的最大动脉。

6 aorta   

n.主动脉

参考例句：

• The abdominal aorta is normally smaller than the thoracic aorta.腹主动脉一般比胸主动脉小。
• Put down that jelly doughnut and look carefully at this aorta.放下手头上的东西，认真观察这张大动脉图片。

7 inevitably   

adv.不可避免地；必然发生地

参考例句：

• In the way you go on,you are inevitably coming apart.照你们这样下去，毫无疑问是会散伙的。
• Technological changes will inevitably lead to unemployment.技术变革必然会导致失业。

8 rupture   

n.破裂；(关系的)决裂；v.(使)破裂

参考例句：

• I can rupture a rule for a friend.我可以为朋友破一次例。
• The rupture of a blood vessel usually cause the mark of a bruise.血管的突然破裂往往会造成外伤的痕迹。

9 surgical   

adj.外科的，外科医生的，手术上的

参考例句：

• He performs the surgical operations at the Red Cross Hospital.他在红十字会医院做外科手术。
• All surgical instruments must be sterilised before use.所有的外科手术器械在使用之前，必须消毒。

10 clots   

n.凝块( clot的名词复数 )；血块；蠢人；傻瓜v.凝固( clot的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• When you cut yourself, blood clots and forms a scab. 你割破了，血会凝固、结痂。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Milk clots when it turns sour. 奶变酸就凝块。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

11 affected   

adj.不自然的，假装的

参考例句：

• She showed an affected interest in our subject.她假装对我们的课题感到兴趣。
• His manners are affected.他的态度不自然。

12 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

13 bulging   

膨胀； 凸出（部）； 打气； 折皱

参考例句：

• Her pockets were bulging with presents. 她的口袋里装满了礼物。
• Conscious of the bulging red folder, Nim told her,"Ask if it's important." 尼姆想到那个鼓鼓囊囊的红色文件夹便告诉她：“问问是不是重要的事。”

14 hydraulic   

adj.水力的；水压的，液压的；水力学的

参考例句：

• The boat has no fewer than five hydraulic pumps.这艘船配有不少于5个液压泵。
• A group of apprentics were operating the hydraulic press.一群学徒正在开动水压机。

15 replica   

n.复制品

参考例句：

• The original conservatory has been rebuilt in replica.温室已按原样重建。
• The young artist made a replica of the famous painting.这位年轻的画家临摹了这幅著名的作品。

16 aortic   

adj.大动脉的

参考例句：

• The arterial pulse pressure in aortic insufficiency is widened. 主动脉瓣闭锁不全时脉搏压变宽。 来自辞典例句
• Valvular heart disease, usually aortic and mitral insufficiency, can complicate a variety of systemic diseases. 瓣膜性心脏病，以主动脉瓣及二尖瓣闭锁不全为最常见，可使各种全身性疾病变得复杂。 来自辞典例句

17 porous   

adj.可渗透的，多孔的

参考例句：

• He added sand to the soil to make it more porous.他往土里掺沙子以提高渗水性能。
• The shell has to be slightly porous to enable oxygen to pass in.外壳不得不有些细小的孔以便能使氧气通过。

18 mesh   

n.网孔，网丝，陷阱；vt.以网捕捉，啮合，匹配；vi.适合； [计算机]网络

参考例句：

• Their characters just don't mesh.他们的性格就是合不来。
• This is the net having half inch mesh.这是有半英寸网眼的网。

19 mosaic   

n./adj.镶嵌细工的，镶嵌工艺品的，嵌花式的

参考例句：

• The sky this morning is a mosaic of blue and white.今天早上的天空是幅蓝白相间的画面。
• The image mosaic is a troublesome work.图象镶嵌是个麻烦的工作。