Endoscopic Atraumatic Coronary Artery Bypass
- This groundbreaking advance in the surgical treatment of heart disease — performing coronary artery bypass surgey (CABG) without opening up the chest cavity and stopping the heart — is now a reality at Emory. It is the most minimally invasive bypass surgery presently available. This innovative approach can help those who are candidates for bypass, or who need a combination of bypass and angioplasty, obtain the same durability and success rate as a normal bypass but it is a lot less invasive.
Emory also offers a new "hybrid" treatment option, which combines the best of surgical and catheter-based therapy to treat patients in a minimally invasive manner. During the hybrid procedure, the cardiothoracic surgeon performs the closed chest bypass and an interventional cardiologist inserts the stents. By combining Endo-ACAB with angioplasty and stents, surgeons can take care of all blockages a patient has, keep the chest intact, and avoid the expense and risks of the heart-lung machine — all with one procedure.
Patient Advantages:
- Endo-ACAB is performed off-pump without a heart-lung machine, usually the culprit in morbidity from coronary artery bypass surgery (CABG).
- It provides the same durability and success rate as a normal bypass, but it's a lot less invasive and involves less pain. The endoscopic approach means there is no painful chest incision nor issues with a large incision not healing correctly.
- Patients are in the ICU for a very short period of time, most patients are able to leave the hospital within 48 hours and return to full activity, including work, in two to three weeks, versus the two to three months needed for recovery after traditional CABG surgery.
