Editorials - Cardiac surgery: Within the revolution!

Cardiac surgery is undergoing major changes. Until recently, coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) constituted the majority of cardiac surgery cases that were performed. The sharp rise in percutaneous coronary interventions (PCI) mainly due to the development of drug eluting stents resulted in a drop in the worldwide number of CABG cases. The cardiac surgery community reacted by developing several new surgical procedures and techniques to better treat cardiac patients. Some of those procedures are demonstrated in this special issue of the Harefuah journal. Those procedures include better techniques to repair the aortic and mitral valves, minimally invasive techniques including video assisted methodology for valves and CABG surgery, surgery for congestive heart failure including new axial flow assist devices, surgery for the treatment of atrial fibrillation and more. The excellent results in cardiac surgery caused older and sicker patients to be referred to surgery. All these are creating a "revolution" in cardiac surgery. Those new technologies, surgical techniques and high risk patients require special financing. In order to complete the revolution and continue providing advanced "state of the art" cardiac surgery procedures for the patients, there is a need for special long term economic planning by the government and the Ministry of Health.