Transmyocardial Revascularization

  My mother has just found out today that she will be going to a hosspiital in North Carolina for a Transmyocardial Revascularization December 9,1998.
  We are wondering what the success rate of this surgery is and what we can expect to happen when we first get there. For instance how many days will it take them to prepare her for surgery and how long can we expect to be there for the entire procedure? I am also wondering if you have any additional information on what the survival rate is for women age 50. Please forward me any information that may be helpful as we prepare for this surgery. I know Duke was mentioned as a hospital, what can you tell me about how this hospital is ranked for doing this procedure? Your response will be greatly appreciated.
Dear Christina
The surgery is still fairly new and long term results are not available. Patients who are clinically unstable at the time of surgery do very poorly. Patients who are clinically stable at the time of surgery do fairly well. If the decision has already been made to do the surgery, it shouldn't take more than a day to prepare. I suspect, however, that the doctors will want to determine if this procedure really is the best next step and they will want to run their own tests - this will take several days. After the surgery, the recovery time in the hospital is about a week.
I think Duke is an outstanding institution. They are skilled in this sort of surgery. The key, though, is to figure out whether she needs this type of surgery.
I hope this information is useful. Information provided in the heart forum is for general purposes only.  Only your physician can provided specific diagnoses and therapies.  Feel free to write back with further questions. Good luck!
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