Today, most Quad-City area patients undergoing heart surgery have their blood pumped through a special machine during the procedure. The method, while effective in many cases, is invasive and requires a longer recovery time for patients, Travis said. On average with such operations, patients spend two fewer days in the hospital for recovery than in traditional open-heart surgery cases. The method can be tricky because it requires operating directly on a beating heart, meaning it is moving, Travis said. To reduce movement in such procedures, special plastic devices are placed on the heart to stabilize the muscle.
Surgeons can then perform the surgery without relying on machines to reroute blood supplies.
The new method is being looked at all over the country, Travis said. We haven t done enough as a nation yet to say this is the way to go, but it looks like this will evolve into a very major option. About 20 percent of all heart surgeries at Genesis in 2000 were done with the new procedure. Travis said he expects that number to climb to more than 30 percent in 2001. In addition to new procedures, Quad-City area patients also can expect to see an expansion of hospital facilities on both sides of the river.