
An alternative to traditional CABG is off-pump or beating heart surgery, where surgeons don't have to use the heart-lung machine. Doctors simply sew the bypasses onto the heart while it continues beating. Various types of heart stabilizers are used to restrain the heart one section at a time so the surgeon can operate on it.
Currently, 60 to 80 percent of all coronary bypass procedures done at the Maryland Heart Center are performed off-pump, compared to just 15-25 percent nationally.
The potential benefits/advantages of off-pump surgery may include the following:
The University of Maryland has taken a leadership role in the debate between off-pump and on-pump bypass surgery. In a recent study -- published in the Annals of Thoracic Surgery -- UM cardiac surgeons found that using a decision-making algorithm that they created was effective in choosing between the off-pump or on-pump approach, and that both methods can result in favorable outcomes.