New Stabilizer Systems for Bypass Surgery

New vacuum stabilizers for performing off-pump coronary artery bypass surgery, also called beating-heart surgery, make the procedure available to many patients who were previously unqualified.

Beating-heart surgery allows doctors to perform bypass surgery without stopping the heart and placing the patient on a heart-lung machine. The new stabilizers were first used in Europe recently in beating-heart surgery performed on a patient at the University Clinic of Mainz (Germany). The patient presented with severe unstable angina due to a 95% left main stenosis and a 90% stenosis of the dominant right coronary artery. The procedure was performed by Prof. Ulrich Hake, of the division of cardiovascular and thoracic surgery.

"In this patient, off-pump surgery was only possible because of the new Axius Vacuum 2 Stabilizers,” said Prof. Hake. "The device performed perfectly during the procedure, and the patient was able to leave the hospital within five days.”

Studies have shown that patients having beating-heart surgery experience fewer side effects such as memory loss, and recover more quickly, with reduced time in the hospital. The Axius Vacuum 2 Stabilizers were developed by Guidant Corp. (Indianapolis, IN, USA).




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