Posts Tagged ‘surgical backup’

March 25th, 2012

Study Supports PCI Without On-Site Surgical Backup

Here’s a great example of genuine medical progress: 10% of the first 50 patients who received balloon angioplasty from the procedure’s developer, Andreas Grüntzig, required emergency bypass surgery. By 2002 only 0.15% of PCI patients required emergency surgery, leading many to believe that surgical backup was no longer necessary. Now a large new study provides strong […]


December 13th, 2011

Meta-Analysis Finds No Danger for PCI Performed at Centers Without Surgical Backup

On-site surgical backup for PCI has long been mandated by guidelines, though its necessity in the modern era has been questioned, and the most recent PCI guidelines published last month lack a specific recommendation about surgical backup. Now a large meta-analysis, published in JAMA, suggests that PCI performed without surgical backup may be safe. Examining data […]