Beating Heart Bypass Surgery
Surgeons using the beating heart bypass technique utilize specially designed instruments to hold the area of the heart being operated on motionless while the rest of the heart continues to beat - allowing a high level of precision. This eliminates the need for the patient to be put on the heart/lung machine, which breathes and pumps blood for the body while the patient's heart is motionless. As a result, the patient stays in the Intensive Care Unit for a much shorter duration than those who have conventional bypass surgery. The patient is also able to be taken off ventilators much earlier and they are under the influence of the necessary drugs for a shorter period of time.