American doctors from the U.S. National Institutes of Health and Emory University School of Medicine have performed the world's first coronary bypass without opening the chest wall. The new method — ventricle-to-coronary transcatheter external navigation and reattachment (VECTOR) — makes it possible to create a bypass for blood flow using catheters inserted through the blood vessels of the legs, bypassing dangerous areas of the heart.
The technology was successfully used in a 67-year-old patient for whom traditional methods were contraindicated because of a previously implanted valve and a high degree of arterial calcification. Using thin wires and catheters, the doctors created a safe route for blood and installed a bypass. Six months after the procedure, the patient has had no complications, and blood flow remains stable.
VECTOR previously existed only as experiments in animals. The method has now proven effective in a human and may become a lifeline for thousands of patients.
