FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. – A South Florida specialist is pioneering a new cardiac procedure that has the potential to benefit thousands of patients needing heart surgery.
Dr. Erik Beyer, chief of cardiac surgery at Florida Medical Center, has performed a procedure called a micro-thoracotomy.
With the aid of 3D camera technology, Beyer is able to reach the heart through a tiny incision without spreading and potentially breaking the ribs.
“It’s partly endoscopic and partly direct vision but the fact of the matter is what we’re really doing is trying to minimize the incision length and not create a lot of chest wall trauma while we’re working on the patient’s aortic or mitral valve,” he said.
Beyer said another unique aspect of the procedure is that patients are placed on bypass using a small needle and wire rather than through an incision in the groin.
That approach, called percutaneous bypass, can speed recovery and reduce the risk of post-surgical infection.
Childbirth deaths rise
New data shows that the number of women dying while giving birth increased over a two-year period.
According to government records, there were almost 24 deaths per 100,000 births in 2020, up from 20 deaths per 100,000 in 2019.
Those numbers reflect moms who died during pregnancy, childbirth or the year after.
Researchers are still studying the impact the pandemic had on the increase but believe the virus led many people to put off medical care, which could increase risks for pregnant women.