But one area of cardiac surgery had, until Dr. Paul Fedak came along, remained relatively unchanged in the last 50 years. Physicians were still using old-fashioned wire to close patients’ chests, in order to encourage the bones in the sternum to knit after they cracked the breast-bone to perform open-heart surgery.
“It seemed out-of-date compared to the rest of cardiac surgery,” says Fedak, 37, a cardiac surgeon with Alberta Health Services in Calgary, and a clinical investigator with the Alberta Heritage Foundation for Medical Research. “It’s not up-to-speed with what patients want.”
So when Fedak learned about a new kind of polymer made from the castor bean plant and mixed with calcium carbonate – a component of bone – he decided to try the super-glue to solve the problem of healing his patients’ chests.
Dr. Fedak joins an illustrious group of researchers, including the likes of Dr. Anne Gillis and Dr. Salim Yusuf and Dr. Sam Weiss, having been featured by CHR. You can review the list and see past profiles here.
An interdisciplinary team of Libin Cardiovascular Institute members led by AHFMR Investigators Dr. Paul Fedak, Cardiac Surgeon, and, Dr. Kathryn King, Nurse Researcher, are on the verge of revolutionizing cardiac surgery. A brand new procedure developed at the Institute uses KryptoniteTM adhesive, a biocompatible polymer, to bring together the breastbone after sternotomy. “We can now heal the breastbone in hours instead of weeks. Patients can make a full recovery after surgery and get back to full physical activities in days instead of months,” reports Dr. Fedak.
Dr. Paul Fedak
The possibilities of having cardiac surgery patients be off of all pain killers within days has resulted in immense international interest. In response, Dr. Fedak has traveled extensively training surgeons across the globe in his new technique. The potential savings to global healthcare systems resulting from fewer prescriptions and, in particular, shorter hospital stays could result in hundreds of millions of dollars in savings annually.
The Libin Cardiovascular Institute of Alberta’s Dr. Matthias Friedrich, Director of the Stephenson Cardiovascular MR Centre, is lead author of a major paper published in the April 28th 2009 edition of the Journal of the American College of Cardiology. It is the first ever White Paper published by the Journal – a new category of articles that is to provide guidance in cardiovascular areas, which are still evolving but require expert consensus on diagnostic or therapeutic strategies. In this case, the topic is myocarditis, which is the inflammation of the myocardium (muscular tissue of the heart).
PRESS RELEASE – CLICK HERE CALGARY PROTOCOL ADOPTED WORLDWIDE
JACC Editor-in-Chief Dr. Anthony DeMaria in discussion with the Libin Institute's Dr. Matthias Friedrich, Director, Stephenson CMR Centre
Dr. Derek Exner, Cardiac Electrophysiologist and Associate Professor of Cardiac Sciences at the University of Calgary’s Libin Cardiovascular Institute of Alberta conducted the first world’s first implant of the Attain Ability Straight® left-heart lead on March 3rd 2009. The implant was part of a global clinical study investigating the use of this lead with cardiac resynchronization therapy (CRT) devices.
The non-randomized, single-arm trial is designed to evaluate the safety and efficacy of Attain Ability Straight left-heart lead. The trial will involve a maximum of 225 patients at 32 centers in Australia, Canada, the European Union and the U.S. The expected study duration and follow up time is approximately 24 months.
Many physicians recognize navigating a lead through the intricate curves of the heart’s anatomy to place the lead in the ideal location in the left ventricle as the most challenging aspect of implanting CRT devices. The Attain Ability Straight’s small, flexible design aims to more easily allow physicians to place the lead where it needs to be positioned. Additionally, the lead design incorporates a novel NASA insulation material, previously evaluated for space applications, high-performance engines, and harsh environments. This technology allows for a narrow lead diameter, making this the first 4 French, straight bipolar, left-heart lead available for clinical investigation.
In 2007, the Foothills Hospital in Calgary became the first in the Province of Alberta to discharge a patient with a Ventricular Assist Device (VAD). Till that point in time, all VAD patients in Alberta needed to remain in hospital, generally for a period of several months, while they awaited a heart transplant. Hard on the patient and on the system.
In the summer of 2008, twenty-eight year old Scott Ouellette brought us yet another first. While being discharged with a VAD (and even at that point, we remained the only place in Alberta discharging VAD patients) he played a full round of golf. We know for certain this was a first in the province, but this may have actually been a first anywhere!
Tinman's heart: April 24th to August 15th 2008
Scott, who is now known as ‘tinman’, has informed us that he was scoring in the mid-80’s with the device, the same level as before the procedure. Having received his transplant, Scott now has his eyes set on the XVIII World Transplant Games to be held in 2011 in Göteborg, Sweden.
