'Off-pump' bypass surgery may be worse than old method

Posted Wednesday, Nov. 04, 2009 Comments   (0) Print Share Share Reprints
A

Have more to add? News tip? Tell us

'Off-pump’ heart bypass surgery may actually be worse than old method, study says

NEW YORK — It seemed like a great idea — doing bypass surgery while the heart is still beating, sparing patients the complications that can arise from going on a heart-lung machine. Now the first big test of this method has produced a surprise: Bypasses have fewer problems and are more successful when done the old way. Most surprisingly, machine use produced no signs of mental decline. 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, a leader of the study. Heart bypass is believed to be the most common surgery in the world — an estimated 253,000 Americans have it each year. — The Associated Press

Looking for comments?

Join the discussion

The Star-Telegram is pleased to provide this opportunity for you to share your thoughts and observations about news topics. We enjoy lively debate on the issues of the day, but we ask that you refrain from using profanity, racist or hate speech, engaging in personal attacks or name-calling, posting advertising or external links or including remarks that are off topic. To post comments, you must be a registered user of Star-Telegram.com. Your username will show along with the comments you post. Thank you for taking the time to offer your thoughts.