A new Canadian-led study says a less invasive approach to bypass surgery can also lead to a faster recovery and fewer complications.
The contrast with the usual experience is stark. Getting heart bypass surgery usually means a massive incision and weeks lying in bed, but the study reveals a minimally invasive option can leave patients feeling significantly stronger just one month later.
Researchers say the finding is a milestone. It is the first time that any form of minimally invasive heart surgery has actually been shown to be as good and even better than the classic way of doing it.
The work built on years of effort. A Canadian surgeon spent 20 years pioneering the technique and training specialized teams worldwide, and his team led the trial testing both ways of doing bypass surgery for multiple blocked arteries.
The two methods differ sharply in how they reach the heart. The traditional approach opens the chest by cutting through the breastbone, while the newer, less invasive technique requires a two-to-three-inch incision near the ribs that results in a considerably smaller scar.
The trial pointed to concrete benefits, with some limits. Along with faster physical recovery, the less invasive group needed fewer blood transfusions and spent less time on a ventilator, though pain and hospital stays were similar. As one researcher put it, it is a proof of principle that does not mean it is ready for prime time, but it does show that it is possible.
One patient's experience illustrates the potential. Diana Wilkinson had the less invasive surgery at the Ottawa Heart Institute in 2018, and two years later she was climbing Mount Kilimanjaro.