Heart implant surgery (image 2 of 12). Surgeons' gloved hands open a patient's chest cavity during an operation to implant a Novacor artificial heart. The chest is held open by metal retractors. The Novacor, an implant connected by an artificial blood vessel to the heart's left ventricle, takes over its function of pumping blood to the body through the body's main artery, the aorta. It is implanted in the abdomen and is powered by an external battery. Artificial hearts are temporary measures used in cases of untreatable heart disease which keep patients alive until a heart donor can be found. This sequence of artificial heart implantation runs from image M561/033-044.