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ksamolyk · #3 (**permalink**) 10-13-2006, 05:56 AM

Off Pump Surgery is on its way down (now down to the high teens and falling here in the USA) as the long term results are worse than on pump surgery and costs the same. Its much more difficult and takes considerably longer subjecting patients to longer periods of anesthesia and fluid administration (thus dilutional anemia). For the right case in the right hands this has a great advantage but to subject the varied populations to this technique is torture to everyone invloved especially the patient who is the most important reason to be in the OR in the first place! Conventional CPB has improved tremendously over the past few years and still the most used and reliable with an overall mortality rate of less than 2% for all comers and is the standard of care. I will be very interested to see how a "Chemical Solution" that stabilizes a beating heart (thus compromises cardiac output and live itself) yet needs no circulatory support is possible. Please keep us updated on this issue.