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Adam Pick - Heart Valves Author & Blogger
Adam Pick
Double Heart Valve Surgery Patient
and Author of The Patient's Guide
To Heart Valve Surgery


> Read My Story Here


“Off-Pump” Surgical Approach Questioned By New Study

I was just reading the New York Times when I came across a very interesting study about the use of “off-pump” techniques for heart surgery.

The study, just published in the New England Journal of Medicine, suggests that use of heart-lung machines may actually provide enhanced surgical outcomes (inclusive of pumphead) when compared to beating heart procedures.

The highlights of the study, which evaluated 2,203 patients that were randomly assigned to have bypass surgery on-pump or off-pump, were:

Dr. Eric Peterson, a Duke cardiologist who wrote an editorial accompanying the paper, stated, “This is a big one… It’s a good study and the fact that it did not find superiority [for off-pump procedures] was key.” Dr. Peterson added that he, like many cardiologists, expected off-pump procedures to be superior.

So you know, bypass surgery is one of the most common operations in the world. Today, as many as 20 percent of bypasses in the U.S. are being done off-pump. That said, this new study could affect a lot of procedures.

The study also suggests that patients who had their surgery “off-pump” did have fewer blood transfusions but spent slightly longer time in the operating room.

Also, the study indicated that there were no significant differences between the two patient groups specific to (i) the time patients spent in intensive care after surgery, (ii) how long patients were on a ventilator and (iii) the length of patient hospital stay.

Pretty interesting study, right?

Keep on tickin!

P.S. To leave a comment, please click here.

About The Author: Adam Pick is a double, heart valve surgery patient and author of The Patient’s Guide To Heart Valve Surgery. This unique book integrates the clinical facts of heart valve surgery with the personal experiences of 78 former valve surgery patients to help patients and caregivers better understand the problems, the opportunities and the realities of heart valve surgery. To learn more about Adam and his heart valve surgery book, click here.

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One Response to ““Off-Pump” Surgical Approach Questioned By New Study”

  1. Larry Ward Says:

    Before you believe the heart lung machine does no harm see this true article…you may think different…. http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=pumphead-heart-lung-machine&page=2

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