Published Thu, Nov 05, 2009 02:00 AM
Modified Wed, Nov 04, 2009 09:45 PM

Study: Surgeries using heart-lung machines top 'off-pump' operations

Article
Comments (0)

EMail Print Order Reprint

Share: Yahoo! Buzz

Text

tool goes here

The Associated Press

NEW YORK -- It seemed like a great idea - doing bypass surgery while the heart is still beating, sparing patients the complications that can come from going on a heart-lung machine. Now the first big test of this method has produced a surprise: Bypass has fewer problems and is more successful done the old way.

Most surprisingly, there were no signs of mental decline in those on the machines. Avoiding this problem was thought to be one of the benefits of so-called "off-pump" surgery.

"For the vast majority, there's no advantage to doing it off-pump, and there may be some disadvantages," said Dr. Frederick Grover of the University of Colorado Denver, one of the leaders of the study.

Heart bypass is believed to be the most common surgery in the world; an estimated 253,000 Americans have the operation each year.

The heart-lung machine carries a small risk of complications, including stroke.

EMail Print Order Reprint

Share: Yahoo! Buzz

Text

tool goes here

Latest Comment View all comments

Nation/World Top Stories

9/11 suspects plan to air criticisms
The five men facing trial in the Sept. 11 attacks will plead not guilty so that they can air their criticisms of U.S. foreign policy, the lawyer for one of the defendants said Sunday.
Moderates, liberals draw lines on health bill
Moderate Senate Democrats threatened Sunday to scuttle health care legislation if their demands aren't met, while more liberal members warned party leaders not to bend.
A year after attacks, Mumbai's response to terror is uneven
The walls that the rockets blew out have not been repaired, and the plaster is a dense scattershot of bullet holes. Dozens of holes, blasted by grenades, pockmark the linoleum floors.
Swift soars at music awards
Michael Jackson was honored with four American Music Awards on Sunday night, making history by collecting more AMAs during his career than any other artist and becoming the show's winningest posthumous artist.
Flare-ups likely in Senate health debate
The Senate is ready to begin a health care debate that's sure to be punctuated by tense and unpredictable battles over some of the most incendiary issues in U.S. politics today.
Vaccine plant lifts Holly Springs
When drug maker Novartis chose Holly Springs as the site for a new vaccine plant three and a half years ago, it instantly put the southern Wake County town at the epicenter of the country's efforts to combat the flu.
Colbert takes the 'ride of my life'
Comedian Stephen Colbert took the "Night Train," and it nearly left him speechless.
With winning hearts in mind
More than 200 Afghans waited in line for several hours Sunday, enduring a harsh, cool wind and blowing sand.
The rogue-inator
Just plain Sarah Palin - the former GOP vice-presidential candidate, former Alaska governor and possible 2012 presidential contender - will visit the post exchange at Fort Bragg today to sign copies of her memoir, "Going Rogue: An American Life." Fearing Palin might use the appearance as a platform to attack President Barack Obama, Army officials asked Palin to refrain from making a speech, posing for photographs, writing personal notes and signing anything other than her book.
After coup, the left's left out
The coup last summer in this tiny Central American country blew up into an international incident, with thousands of Hondurans taking to the streets while everyone from Barack Obama to Fidel Castro lined up behind ousted President Manuel Zelaya.