Cardiac Surgery News and Research

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In future, less invasive transcatheter heart valve replacements will benefit people with heart disease

A significant number of people with heart disease will benefit from less invasive transcatheter heart valve replacements in future, finds a review of updated practices in CMAJ.

9 Mar 2010

University of Michigan's cardiac surgeon receives Nina Starr Braunwald award

The research foundation of the nation's largest group of thoracic surgeons has awarded University of Michigan's Jennifer C. Hirsch, M.D., M.S., with the Nina Starr Braunwald award, a top award for women in cardiac surgery.

4 Mar 2010

Shock: Norepinephrine favored over dopamine

Physicians treating patients with shock should consider norepinephrine instead of dopamine as a tool for stabilizing blood pressure, according to an editorial in the March 4, 2010, issue of the New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM).

3 Mar 2010

St. Jude Medical's Trifecta valve receives CE Mark approval

St. Jude Medical, Inc. today announced that it has received CE Mark approval for the Trifecta™ valve, marking the Company’s launch into the market for pericardial aortic stented tissue valves.

2 Mar 2010

ATS Medical: First human robot assisted endoscopic aortic valve replacement in the Midwest

ATS Medical, Inc., manufacturer and marketer of state-of-the-art cardiac surgery products and services today announced the first human robot assisted endoscopic aortic valve replacement in the Midwest using the daVinci® Surgical System from Intuitive Surgical to implant the ATS 3f ® Aortic Bioprosthesis. The procedure was recently performed by Husam H. Balkhy, M.D., at the Wisconsin Heart Hospital in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

1 Mar 2010

Bayer HealthCare Pharmaceuticals' RECOTHROM solution receives Health Canada approval

Bayer HealthCare Pharmaceuticals announced today that RECOTHROM(R) (Thrombin alfa (Recombinant)), the first recombinant, plasma-free thrombin approved by Health Canada, is now available for use as a topical hemostatic solution. According to a recent clinical study, RECOTHROM(R) was found to successfully stop 80 per cent of surgical bleeding within three minutes and 95 per cent of bleeding within 10 minutes.

1 Mar 2010

Minimally Invasive Thoracic Surgery program performed at John Muir Medical Center

As part of John Muir Health’s Minimally Invasive Thoracic Surgery program, a minimally invasive thymectomy – removal of the thymus gland – was successfully performed recently at the John Muir Medical Center – Concord Campus. This procedure, designed to minimize trauma to patients, uses the latest generation da Vinci® Si Surgical System to help surgeons see vital anatomical structures more clearly and to perform a more precise operation.

24 Feb 2010

Blood transfusions based on single low hematocrit measurement questioned

A comparison study of nearly 1,900 patients published in Perfusion, a peer-reviewed academic journal, questions the long-standing practice of basing blood transfusion decisions on a single low hematocrit measurement result. In the study, titled Is it the Patient or the Physician who Cannot Tolerate Anemia?, researchers showed that a single measure of hematocrit is not a reliable indicator of transfusion need and that lower-than-normal hemoglobin levels have no adverse impact on patients.

19 Feb 2010

La Pitie hospital performs 200 implants of SynCardia temporary CardioWest Total Artificial Heart

SynCardia Systems, Inc., manufacturer of the SynCardia temporary CardioWest™ Total Artificial Heart, announced that Groupe hospitalier de la Pitié-Salpétrière (La Pitié) in Paris has performed 200 implants of the Total Artificial Heart, more than any other hospital in the world.

18 Feb 2010

Patients receiving female-donor plasma did better than patients receiving male-donor plasma: Study

Three years after the U.S. blood banking industry issued recommendations that discourage transfusing plasma from female donors because of a potential antibody reaction, Duke University Medical Center researchers discovered that female plasma actually may have advantages.

12 Feb 2010

Future studies may provide clarity on the best approach for pre-surgery beta blockers

In a commentary appearing in this week's Journal of the American Medical Association, heart specialists at the University of Michigan Health System make a plea for clarity on the best approach for prescribing beta blockers before surgery.

10 Feb 2010

Study shows cooling technique in heart operations does not impair neurological outcomes in children

Congenital heart defects (CHD) are the most common birth defects in humans, affecting 8 per 1000 live births with one third of affected children requiring intervention in early infancy.

28 Jan 2010

Selective use of DHCA during surgery for CHD in infancy does not impair neurological outcomes

Congenital heart defects (CHD) are the most common birth defects in humans, affecting 8 per 1000 live births with one third of affected children requiring intervention in early infancy. Increasing numbers of survivors combined with developmental expectations for independence, behavioral self-regulation and academic achievement have led to a growing identification of neurobehavioral symptoms in some survivors. A study now suggests that a cooling technique often used in heart operations does not impair neurological outcomes.

27 Jan 2010

First commercial implants of ATS Medical's ATS 3f Enable Aortic Bioprosthesis performed

ATS Medical, Inc., manufacturer and marketer of state-of-the-art cardiac surgery products and services today announced the first commercial implants of the ATS 3f Enable® Aortic Bioprosthesis were recently performed at the University of Berne Hospital, Berne, Switzerland by Lars Englberger, MD, Mario Stalder, MD, and Professor Thierry Carrel. The procedures were completed using a sutureless technique and the patients are recovering with no complications.

25 Jan 2010

First Hybrid Cath Lab in Louisiana at Tulane Hospital for Children

The Pediatric Heart Center at Tulane Hospital for Children has opened the first and only Hybrid Cath Lab in Louisiana. The cutting-edge facility -- one of only 10 in the country -- is a fully equipped pediatric catheterization lab and operating room that allows both cardiologists and surgeons to work side by side to open the chest, place delivery catheters in the heart and deploy devices. Outcomes are improved by avoiding cardiopulmonary bypass and shortened procedure times.

23 Jan 2010

LifeNet Health to launch CardioGRAFT decell pulmonary patch with MATRACELL technology

LifeNet Health, a leading allograft bio-implant company, will nationally launch the CardioGRAFT® decell pulmonary patch with MATRACELL™ technology at the Society of Thoracic Surgeons annual meeting in Ft. Lauderdale, Fla., on January 24.

23 Jan 2010

MAQUET Cardiovascular to host educational symposium to optimize cardiovascular care

MAQUET Cardiovascular LLC, a leading provider of cardiovascular technologies, announced today that it will a host an educational symposium featuring leading cardiovascular surgeons who will discuss the critical issues in caring for today's cardiovascular surgery patients.

22 Jan 2010

SCA begins new initiative to make 'error-free' cardiac surgery a reality

Is it possible for cardiac surgery teams to completely eliminate medical errors? That's the goal of an ambitious project—called the "Flawless Operative Cardiovascular Unified Systems" (FOCUS) initiative—being undertaken by the Society of Cardiovascular Anesthesiologists (SCA).

21 Jan 2010

Simbionix introduces new module for ANGIO Mentor simulator

Simbionix, the world's leading developer of medical simulation systems, introduces its new module for the ANGIO Mentor simulator, the Percutaneous Aortic Valve Replacement Module, which provides physicians with an opportunity to practice a revolutionary endovascular implantation of a bioprosthesis, without performing cardiac surgery.

20 Jan 2010

U-M Congenital Heart Center invites parents to submit queries on heart defect surgeries

The public, including parents of babies with severe heart defects, are invited to submit questions for inclusion in a tweet chat about surgical approaches for heart defects from noon-2 p.m. Wednesday, Jan. 20 on Twitter.

12 Jan 2010