July 21, 2006 Regions heart surgeons among first in nation to use new compact circulatory support system July 21, 2006 St. Paul, Minn., – Heart surgeons at Regions Hospital are among the first in the nation to use an innovative system for supporting a patient's circulatory and respiratory functions while the patient is undergoing surgery on an arrested – or stopped – heart. In clinical trials, the new system decreased blood utilization by 27% and lowered overall transfusion rate by 37% in patients who were anemic when they came into the operating room. "This system provides several benefits to our patients including a decreased likelihood of infection, fewer respiratory problems, less time on the ventilator, less risk of post-operative stroke, and a faster recovery time," said Dr. Goya Raikar, who specializes in adult cardiac, thoracic and vascular surgery at Regions. Mary Johnson was one of the first patients at Regions to benefit from the new system. The 61-year-old had noticed she became short of breath just walking up and down stairs in her two-story town home in Hugo. After talking to her physician, Johnson underwent a more detailed exam at Regions, where cardiologists identified a major blockage in an artery to her heart. On Tuesday, Dr. Raikar performed triple bypass on Johnson using Medtronic's new Performer Cardiopulmonary Bypass System in tandem with its Resting Heart System. In addition to improved functionality over existing technology, the system is very compact, occupying only a 20-inch by 22-inch space – about one-third the footprint of traditional "heart-lung" consoles. It was approved for use by the Food and Drug Administration in April. Regions Hospital is a Level I Trauma Center and teaching hospital serving Minnesota and western Wisconsin for more than 130 years. Regions is a private, non-profit hospital providing outstanding care in womens health, heart, cancer, surgery, orthopaedics, neuroscience, burn, emergency care and more. Regions is part of the HealthPartners family of care. Additional information is available at regionshospital.com. Contact:Vince Rivard 651-254-4729 |
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