Asian Cardiovasc Thorac Ann 2003;11:97-98
© 2003 Asia Publishing EXchange Ltd
The Future of Cardiac Surgery: a History Lesson
Steven F Bolling, MD
,
Matthew A Romano, MD
Michigan, USA
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Advances in health technology have increased exponentially over the last decade. This progress has enabled all medical specialties to better treat patients and holds the promise of improving outcomes and perhaps, moving beyond palliation to cure and eventually prevention. However, while some embrace progress, others view change with fear and trepidation. Notably, in our field of cardiac surgery, there is concern of increasing competition from cardiology, as newer catheter based innovations, such as drug eluting coronary stents, rapidly increase in use. This has some predicting a limited future for cardiac surgery, as the melding of diagnostic and therapeutic catheter approaches has become the driving force in treating coronary disease, relegating cardiac surgery to the status of a safety net. Many have further suggested that innovations in interventional cardiology, combined with decreasing reimbursements are partially . . . [Full Text of this Article]
Copyright © 2003 by the Asia Publishing EXchange Ltd.