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Fixing children's hearts without skipping a beat |
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Every year in the United States, some 35,000 babies are born with congenital heart defects: holes or narrowings in the wrong places, misshapen chambers and valves too stiff or too weak to open and close properly. One in three cases requires surgery, and most of these operations necessitate stopping the heart and using cardiopulmonary bypass, allowing surgeons to work on a still, bloodless heart. It's the best way to see and reach structures inside the heart, the surest way to avoid accidentally jabbing delicate spots and the only way to work on fast-moving parts, such as valves. To read the entire article, click here.
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