Hadassah’s Department of Cardio-Thoracic Surgery has recently acquired a state-of-the-art heart-lung machine, the only one of its kind in Israel.
Better suited to the human body’s physiological system, it ensures that the patient experiences far fewer adverse side effects. Hundreds of other pieces of new equipment have also been acquired. Having adopted the American Society of Thoracic Surgeons’ quality control database, cardio-thoracic physicians are now able to analyze the success of new equipment and assess its risk factors.
The Department reports a dramatic rise in the number of patients undergoing surgery since the beginning of the year—a 45 percent increase in adults and 48 percent in children. At the same time, research is moving forward. Three of the latest major research projects are examining: the effect of air pollution on heart function; why venal implants develop blockages faster than arterial implants following a bypass operation; and the hereditary factors in heart valve diseases.
