Guidant launches beating heart surgery device:
This article was originally published in Clinica
Executive Summary
Guidant has introduced its next-generation AXIUS vacuum 2 stabiliser system, which allows surgeons to perform coronary artery bypass surgery without stopping the heart and placing patients on a heart-lung machine. The device stabilises the area around the blocked vessel and allows doctors to graft the vessel without compromising the heart's natural pumping action. Beating heart surgery, which accounts for nearly 25% of US bypass procedures, has been shown to allow faster patient recovery and is associated with fewer side-effects, such as memory loss, said the firm.