Batista procedure may shorten organ wait list
Batista procedure may shorten organ wait list
An innovative cardiac operation pioneered by Randas V. Batista of the Hospital Angeline Caron in Parana, Brazil, may allow patients awaiting heart transplants to be removed from waiting lists for donor organs. Cardiac surgeons at the Cleveland Clinic and several other U.S. cardiac centers are cautiously espousing the radical new life-saving procedure. The six-month survival rate following the procedure is similar to that of patients receiving heart transplants.
Batista’s procedure improves the beating efficiency of an enlarged heart by remodeling it. The surgeon removes living tissue, a practice frowned upon by traditional cardiology. "Once the heart size is reduced, pumping efficiency improves immediately," Randall C. Starling, MD, a Cleveland Clinic cardiologist, reported to physicians attending the American College of Cardiology annual meeting in Anaheim, CA, earlier this year.
Of the first 47 patients undergoing the operation at the Cleveland Clinic, three died, none during surgery. Approximately 15% required a left ventricular assist device. Three required a heart transplant. One patient suffering from dilated cardiomyopathy at the Cleveland Clinic was waiting for a heart transplant. Nine months after undergoing the procedure he was no longer in need of a transplant. Surgeons perform the operation only on patients who do not have blocked arteries and have no history of heart attack that would leave extensive scar tissue.
"The procedure is not a cure for heart disease," says Starling. "It improves the quality of life and makes patients more functional. No one knows the long-term benefits and outcome."
Les Wooldridge, RN, educational coordinator of the Resuscitation Program, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, TN. Telephone: (615) 322-0285.
Mary Ann Peberdy, MD, cardiologist, Medical College of Virginia Hospitals, Richmond, VA. Telephone: (804) 828-4889.
Carol Crosby, RN, MSN, nursing coordinator of ambulatory care, the Medical College of Virginia Hospitals, Richmond, VA. Telephone: (804) 828-6050.
Cathy Boze, RN, MSN, educational consultant in the department of education and professional development, Medical College of Virginia Hospitals, Richmond, VA. Telephone: (804) 828-0418.
Carole H. Patterson, RN, deputy director, department of standards, Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations, Oakbrook Terrace, IL. Telephone: (630) 792-5000.
Jim Christopher, coordinator of emergency medical services, St. Francis Hospital and Health Centers, Beech Grove, IN. Telephone: (317) 783-8358.
Richard A. Lazar, Esq., attorney in Portland, OR. Telephone: (503) 892-9616.
Karen Collishaw, policy analyst and director of federal and state affairs, American College of Cardiology, Bethesda, MD. Telephone: (800) 253-4636.
James Stacey, director of the division of information services, American Medical Association, Washington, DC. Telephone: (202) 789-7419.
Claudia Fole, RN, nurse manager, cardiac cath lab, George E. Reed Heart Center, Hawthorne, NY. Telephone: (914) 285-8802.
Donald Young, executive director, Prospective Payment Assessment Commission, Washington, DC. Telephone: (202) 401-8986.
Carmela Coyle, vice president for policy, American Hospital Association, Washington, DC. Telephone: (202) 638-1100.
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