Is G.D. the place for this?"'Closed-Heart Surgery' Is Newest Frontier"

[Judi Lynn]

(I know it's not political, but where ELSE would you put something you think some D.U.'ers might want to see?)

'Closed-Heart Surgery' Is Newest Frontier
New Frontier in Heart Surgery: Replacing Diseased Valves Without Cracking the Chest

By LAURAN NEERGAARD AP Medical Writer

Apr 1, 2006 (AP)— Dr. Samuel Lichtenstein cut a 2-inch hole between an elderly man's ribs. Peering inside, he poked a pencil-sized wire up into the chest, piercing the bottom of the man's heart.

Within minutes, Bud Boyer would have a new heart valve without having his chest cracked open.

Call it closed-heart surgery.

"I consider it some kind of magic," said Boyer, who left the Vancouver, British Columbia, hospital a day later and was almost fully recovered in just two weeks.
(snip/...)

http://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory?id=1794394

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Hope it's the first wave of "kinder, gentler," not-so-scary surgery.

[NV Whino]

1. I think there is a health forum

you might want to post there. But this sounds great. Steps in the right direction.

[Judi Lynn]

11. Thanks, NV Whino. I hadn't taken the time to find out about that forum.

So I posted it there after seeing your remarks.

[Kingshakabobo]

2. Sure. Why not? Thanks!

This is what I keep telling my doctor when he says lower your cholesterol bla bla bla, eat right, bla bla bla.

In 20 years getting a new heart or bypass will be like going to the dentist for a filling.

[Maddy McCall]

3. I think it's fine. If it's a newly published article, it can go in LBN.

VEry interesting! 2-week recovery--that's fantastic!

[dchill]

4. I would think that "General Discussion"...

would cover any topic that is generally discussed - like this one. Thanks for posting this. It is of particular interest to me, and I'd have missed it in a "Topic Forum."

[blondeatlast]

5. YES! As a LONG, long time insulin-dependent diabetic

I welcome this news--and this is news, make no mistake.

The most valuable tool in my treatment is hope and this offers me much of it.

Thank you.

[Warpy]

6. Gotta love that socialized medicine

since they're the ones coming up with most of the innovations, these days.

I'd been reading about minimally invasive aortic valve surgeries in the med lit for a couple of years. It's only good for certain repairs in certain instances and most surgeries will still need to be the massive operations they are now.

However, this is real progress. Eventually they'll figure out how to do it for all the valves.

[Southsideirish]

7. Thanks for giving this wide exposure. My brother is one who could

benefit from this surgery. Thanks again!

[MuseRider]

8. Thanks for posting this. My husband

is going to need a valve and the doc at his last appointment told him it would be between now and about 3 years judging by the progress of the tests that have been ongoing for the last 15 years. I will pass this along to him since he has started to get worried over it all.

[Judi Lynn]

9. Not that this will help, but I just saw two more articles on valves:

Some Heart Valves Don't Need Replacing
Not All Diseased Heart Valves Must Be Replaced
By LAURAN NEERGAARD AP Medical Writer

Apr 1, 2006 (AP)— Not all diseased heart valves must be replaced. Leaky mitral valves, for example, usually are repaired. Researchers are testing whether snaking a little clip inside patients' hearts offers as good a repair as standard open-heart surgery.

About 2.7 million people in the U.S. have a significantly leaky mitral valve. Its flaps do not close tightly, allowing blood to seep backward from one heart chamber to another. The problem can worsen over time. If it becomes severe enough, patients are at risk of an irregular heartbeat or heart failure.

Surgeons can sew the flaps together to tighten the opening or they can use a ring to tighten it. The question is how to do such repairs less invasively than through open-heart surgery.
(snip/...)

http://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory?id=1794397

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Very short article:

Summary: Evolution in Valve Replacement
By The Associated Press

http://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory?id=1794399

[MuseRider]

10. Thanks.

I will pass those along to him as well.