The Surgical Blindfold
Let’s talk about the root of the problem—the aortic root of the problem…
The Bentall Procedure isn’t new. It’s been around since the Beatles boarded a yellow submarine. It’s been around since before we flew to the moon so we could take six pictures and leave, like driving from Canada to Disneyland, stepping out of the car just long enough to say, “God it’s hot here,” and then driving home again.
Maybe it’s a stretch to say that the Bentall is like musical commentary, or like remarking on the temperature while wearing a space suit on the moon, but the Bentall is nonetheless a monumental undertaking.
In case of an aortic root aneurysm, a talented surgeon can employ the Bentall to replace the root (and affected ascending sections) with a composite graft, then reattach the coronary arteries to the new aortic segment. Thought I suspect that was much easier for me to type that than for a surgeon to actually perform.
Regardless, I do know that the Bentall was recently performed in Vietnam with one of our Aureflo devices in a way that made me think about blindfolding surgeons. Not that I would want to blindfold someone and then hand them scalpels, but that is akin to what happens every day without flow measurement.
On July 19th, surgeons at the Tam Anh Hospital in Vietnam performed the Bentall procedure on a patient, then used our Aureflo to quickly measure the flow inside the vessels, confirming that the procedure had been done correctly. Measurement is fast, precise, and leaves the vessels in their native state. We’re constantly inundated with stories of surgeons using our technology for the first time, expecting the flow in their CABG graft to be fine, only to find out it’s stenotic, or there’s a stitch through the back wall, etc.
Flow measurement is a tool of illumination, and that's not figurative. (We use full-vessel ultrasound illumination to give you hyper-accurate measurements.) Why close the patient and hope that the coronary flow is sufficient, when you could measure and know that it is? Or, more importantly, on rare occasion, find out that it’s not okay, and thereby have the opportunity to revise it while the patient is still on the table.
Click here to see what we offer to help you keep your patients safe. It’s cutting edge.
The Beatles should have written a song about a white Aureflo instead.
Thanks for reading,
Transonic Systems Inc
The Measure of Better Results
References:
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bentall_procedure
- https://www.verywellhealth.com/bentall-procedure-5088189