For the first time in the history of human medicine, doctors have performed a coronary artery bypass grafting procedure, which reroutes the path blood flows through without the need to open the patient's chest, similar to how some aortic valve replacements are currently performed. The coronary artery bypass grafting procedure redirects blood flow around a blockage in the artery that carries it to the heart. In this case, surgical instruments were inserted and passed through a blood vessel in the patient's leg, according to a report published in the journal 'Circulation: Cardiovascular Interventions.' Researchers said the results indicate that in the future, there could be a widely available and less painful alternative to open-heart surgery for those at risk of coronary artery blockage. Research team leader Christopher Bruce from the US National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute said: 'It took some out-of-the-box thinking to achieve that, but I think we've developed a very practical solution.' The patient was not a candidate for traditional coronary artery bypass grafting via opening the chest due to heart failure and old, poorly functioning artificial heart valves. Six months after the procedure, the patient showed no signs of coronary artery blockage, meaning the new method was successful. More tests on more patients are needed before the new technique can be used on a wider scale, but its success in the first trial is a big step in that direction. Bruce said: 'I was very pleased with the success of the project, from formulating the hypothesis to animal testing to clinical trials.'
