HEART specialists have found that using a different technique for the common heart by-pass operation can cut the costs of treatment by up to 30 per cent, saving the NHS millions of pounds.
In the first clinical trial of its kind, surgeons in Bristol found that "beating heart" surgery, compared with conventional surgery, cut the rate of chest infections, irregular fast heartbeats, bleeding and the need for blood transfusions. Additionally, patients spent less time in hospital.
In beating heart "off-pump" surgery the heart is kept beating throughout the operation. With standard treatment the heart is stopped and circulation is maintained using a heart lung by-pass machine and blood is artificially pumped back into the body.
Prof Gianni Angelini, the consultant surgeon who led the study, said yesterday: "Coronary artery by-pass surgery (CABG) on the beating heart is gaining popularity. However, until now there has been a lack of evidence that it improves outcome.
"In Bristol we already use this new technique in 60 per cent of cases. We hope our evidence will encourage more surgeons to use this new technique which we have shown does reduce complications and save hospital resources."
The study in The Lancet yesterday says beating heart surgery reduced irregular heart beat by 25 per cent, chest infections by 12 per cent and transfusions by 33 per cent. The hospital stay was reduced by 13 per cent.
Deaths, in the one- to three-year follow-up period, were similar, with two per cent of patients dying after beating heart surgery compared with three per cent after standard surgery.
The British Heart Foundation which funded the research with the Garfield Weston Trust, said yesterday that 28,000 heart by-pass operations are carried out in Britain each year at a cost of £7,000 to £9,000 each.
They estimate that beating heart surgery would cut the cost by 30 per cent. The standard method has a high success rate, but stopping the heart and pumping the blood artificially can affect the brain, heart, kidneys and lungs, which can delay recovery.
Four hundred patients were randomly allocated to one of the surgical methods in the trial. Prof Sir Charles George, medical director of BHF, said: "Research suggesting that a technique that saves resources and is safer for the patient is very important.
"Without this research the off-pump method of performing CABG was gaining popularity, but with it we have the evidence to show that it is a positive step for patients and hospitals alike."