NEW TECHNOLOGY USED DURING OFF-PUMP BEATING HEART SURGERY

Dr. Zahir Rashid

A new technology now being used during off-pump beating heart surgery at Saint Joseph's Hospital has tremendously improved the ability of heart surgeons to do bypass surgery in a less invasive way, with improved outcomes.

The SPYDER™ Proximal Anastomotic Device allows surgeons to do coronary artery bypass grafting without using clamps or traditional sutures. Marshfield cardiothoracic surgeons have been using the device for nearly a year--the first in central Wisconsin to do so.

"Traditionally, standard coronary artery bypass grafting, or CABG, is performed with a heart-lung machine. During the procedure, the patient's heart is stopped and the work of the heart and lungs is taken over by the machine, while surgeons work on a motionless heart," said Zahir Rashid, MD, Marshfield Clinic cardiothoracic surgeon on staff at Saint Joseph's Hospital. "Surgeons use sutures to attach the blood vessels, or grafts, to bypass blocked coronary arteries. The site of the attachment, or connection, is called an anastomosis."

Until recently, bypass surgery also required specialized aortic clamps, allowing the surgeon to create the necessary connections without significant blood loss.

The SPYDER device makes it possible to do this delicate bypass surgery on patients who in the past would be denied the benefit of the procedure because of their calcified aorta, which could not be clamped.

"Unfortunately, there is also mounting evidence that the use of aortic clamps during CABG contributes to complications often associated with open heart surgery," said Dr. Rashid. "This new technology enables the surgeon to perform sutureless anastomosis without clamps in a matter of seconds. This makes the procedure less invasive and reduces the risk of complications significantly, especially stroke."

In recent years, off-pump bypass, also known as beating heart surgery, has gained favor throughout the world and the use of the off-pump method continues to grow. It enables surgeons to perform heart bypass without the use of the heart-lung machine.

"Studies suggest that the off-pump method reduces the risk of stroke for some patients. It also reduces the risk of breathing and kidney problems for patients with lung and renal disease," said Dr. Rashid, who routinely does the procedure to all of his patients. "It also reduces the need for blood transfusions, and has shown to get patients out of the hospital sooner."