What is TMR?
My brother’s post on the latest development in Dad’s health will give you the scoop on what’s happening. I won’t repeat the whole story here, but the gist is that Dad is going to have yet another heart surgery in an attempt to get his pain under control. The surgery is called TMR.
Here’s some information from Web MD if you’re interested in knowing what this is all about:
TMR is a new procedure used to treat inoperable heart disease in people with persistent angina that isn’t relieved by any other method.
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TMR, or transmyocardial laser revascularization, is a newer treatment aimed at improving blood flow to areas of the heart that were not treated by angioplasty or surgery. A special carbon dioxide (CO2) laser is used to create small channels in the heart muscle, improving blood flow to the heart muscle.
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Doctors aren’t sure how TMR improves blood flow to the heart. Clinical evidence suggests blood flow is improved in two ways:
The channels act as bloodlines. When the ventricle pumps or squeezes oxygen-rich blood out of the heart, it sends blood through the channels, restoring blood flow to the heart muscle.
The procedure may promote angiogenesis, or the growth of new capillaries (small blood vessels) that help supply blood to the heart muscle.
TMR usually takes one to two hours. The procedure may last longer if it is combined with other heart procedures.
And here’s an animated video that shows the procedure.
Technorati Tags: health, heart surgery, TMR, heart disease, angina, transmyocardial laser revascularization, angioplasty, angiogenesis
It has been an interesting journey these past two weeks. My cardiologist called in an expert to diagnose and offer appropriate treatment for my failing heart. When my doc offered an outline of what the specialist would suggest he said “Nobody knows how it works. I think it’s voodoo but it works.” I guess that was meant to boost my confidence.
[...] Dad’s heart surgery went very well yesterday. The surgeon made 30 holes in his heart with a laser in a relatively new and seldom performed surgery called TMR. As I explained in a previous post, it is not really understood why this benefits some heart patients, but it is suspected that it stimulates the growth of new blood vessels and possibly also deadens some nerves resulting in reduced chest pain. [...]