A million patients are treated with a coronary bypass each year. During this surgery the entire chest and ribcage must be split open to allow access to the heart.
During this procedure, the chest area is fully exposed to bacteria and the patient may suffer from internal bleeding. When finished, the wound is sutured together and has to heal for quite some time, with a large scar remaining afterwards. So, for the patient this is a lot to deal with.
We aim to create a technique with less risks, less recovery time and more comfort.
Importance
*The TECAB solution described in the video is our vision for minimally invasive CABG-procedures. Currently, the Elana Heart Bypass System is still being developed in an open chest setting.
A look into the future
Thanks to our specially designed technique, we aim the final stage to be able to perform the entire heart bypass operation through small incisions in the chest.
Inside, a blocked blood vessel is bypassed by using a donor vessel, which is usually taken from around the same area. By using our special Elana Heart Clip, the donor vessel is connected behind the blockage and is then opened, to allow blood to flow through the newly made path. No need for a heart-lung machine and suturing.
For the patient, this means less chance of infections, internal bleeding, stroke and a much shorter recovery time.
The patient is only required to let the openings heal for a short period of time before going back to normal life.
The Elana-procedure is currently performed as open-heart surgery. However, the final goal is for the Elana Heart Bypass System to be performed, in the future, with a minimally invasive approach.
The below comparison refers to the ideal future scenario. See the advantages by yourself!
‘‘With the use of a connector we are able to perform a reproducible anastomosis”
Dr. Patrick Klein
Cardiothoracic surgeon at St Antonius Hospital
in The Netherlands
Elana is a registered trademark of AMT Medical BV.
