It has become more and more common to perform heart surgery on octogenarians. For the first time in 50 years, heart surgeons have new tools and devices on the horizon that will significantly improve the outcome of any patient, especially elderly patients. These new approaches, including the ability to place new heart valves without sutures, will further enhance the surgeons' ability to minimize the size of the incision and shorten the time on the heart-lung machine, further reducing the risk of strokes and renal failure.
It has become more and more common to perform heart surgery on
octogenarians. For the first time in 50 years, heart surgeons have
new tools and devices on the horizon that will significantly
improve the outcome of any patient, especially...
More
The Society of Thoracic Surgeons answered:It has become more and more common to perform heart surgery on octogenarians. For the first time in 50 years, heart surgeons have new tools and devices on the horizon that will significantly improve the outcome of any patient, especially elderly patients. These new approaches, including the ability to place new heart valves without sutures, will further enhance the surgeons' ability to minimize the size of the incision and shorten the time on the heart-lung machine, further reducing the risk of strokes and renal failure.
