title: Transmyocardial laser revascularization: current experience and future direction.
abstract: Transmyocardial laser revascularization (TMR) with the CO2 laser (PLC Medical Systems, Inc., Franklin, MA) appears to improve the quality of life and event-free survival of end-stage coronary artery disease patients. Application of this technology prior to clinical instability, along with diligent anesthetic support, careful patient selection, and perioperative management, are essential to a successful outcome. Rush-Presbyterian-St. Luke's Medical Center became the fifth clinical site to investigate TMR under Phase II and Phase III U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) protocols. This clinical experience includes a total of seventy-nine patients, of whom sixty-three had sole TMR utilizing a minimally invasive approach on the beating heart. Lessons learned, to optimize patient selection and operative- and postoperative management, will be delineated and the future direction of TMR will be discussed.
authors.affiliation: Department of Cardiovascular-Thoracic Surgery, Rush-Presbyterian-St. Luke's Medical Center, Chicago, Illinois 60612, USA.
authors.forename: R J
authors.initials: RJ
authors.lastname: March
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D003327:Coronary Disease / Q000601:surgery*; D006801:Humans; D053685:Laser Therapy / Q000379:methods* / Q000639:trends; D009204:Myocardial Revascularization / Q000295:instrumentation* / Q000379:methods*; D010347:Patient Care Planning; D018579:Patient Selection