The People's Hospital of Beijing University performed a combined revascularization procedure utilizing beating heart bypass surgery, along with transmyocardial revascularization and stem cell implantation.
This is believed to be the first of such combination procedure. The patient is a 61 year old male suffering from chest pain related to an acute myocardial infarction. Angiography, as confirmed by SPECT, confirmed severe three vessel disease, with only the left internal mammary artery bypass from a previous surgical procedure still patent and perfusing the left anterior descending artery.
In preparation for the procedure, 5 ml of stem cells were derived from the patient's own bone marrow. Following the beating heart bypass through a left thoracotomy, TMR channeling (utilizing the Holmium: YAG laser system by CardioGenesis, Foothill Ranch, California, USA) was completed in all ischemic regions and the infarct zone. This was followed by injection of the stem cells in the same regions of the TMR channeling.
The attending cardiac surgeon, Dr. Wan Feng, Chairman of the Department of Cardiac Surgery at The People's Hospital of Beijing University, stated, "The objective of this procedure is to optimize the long term outcome of the patient. The bypass of the native coronary's will provide immediately improved perfusion to the ischemic areas. The TMR channels combined with autologous stem cells are intended to augment the bypass of the native coronary's with additional revascularization in the treated areas, including the infarct zone."