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Previous Volume 341:1074-1076 September 30, 1999 Number 14 Next

	Since this article has no abstract, we have provided an extract of the first 100 words of the full text and any section headings.

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To perform transmyocardial laser revascularization, the surgeon exposes the beating heart through a lateral thoracotomy, places a laser (carbon dioxide or holmium) on the epicardial surface of the left ventricle, and applies sufficient energy to create small channels from the epicardial to the endocardial surfaces. During a typical procedure, 10 to 50 such channels are created. Initially, these small, laser-created transmyocardial channels were thought to improve the perfusion of ischemic myocardium by providing it with direct access to oxygen-rich left ventricular blood, but it was subsequently found that the channels quickly occlude after the procedure.¹ Nonetheless, initial observational studies of . . . [Full Text of this Article]

References

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• Kim, M. C., Kini, A., Sharma, S. K. (2002). Refractory angina pectoris: Mechanism and therapeutic options. J Am Coll Cardiol 39: 923-934 [Abstract] [Full Text]