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Article: Research suggests pros of not using heart-lung machine.
- Article from:
- The Orlando Sentinel (Orlando, FL)
- Article date:
- October 28, 2003
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2003 The Orlando Sentinel. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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Byline: Robyn Suriano
KISSIMMEE, Fla. _ Patients who have surgery without being linked to a heart-lung bypass machine may have short-term benefits, according to research presented Tuesday.
But doctors said more research is needed to see whether so-called "off-pump" surgeries on beating hearts are as effective as those done after the heart has been stopped and the patient is kept alive with a bypass machine.
An estimated 20 percent of the 350,000 operations performed each year to repair clogged arteries are done without the heart-lung machine.
"The shift now seems to be going in the off-pump direction, but the question still remains: Is ...