Purpose: We developed a heart positioner, the Tentacles NEO, specifically designed for minimally invasive coronary artery bypass grafting (MICS-CABG).
Description: The device has 3 flexible suction tubes, with a suction cup at the tip of each tube. The suction tubes can be detached from the device body, allowing them to be manipulated in any direction through a small incision around the small thoracotomy. When the device displaces the heart, the suction cup moves behind the chest wall and does not crowd the operative field.
Evaluation: Although the sideways suction force of the new device was as strong as that of the original device, Tentacles, the longitudinal and perpendicular force exerted was approximately 80% of the original device. Nevertheless, the new device could safely and favorably displace the heart in a pig model and even during off-pump CABG via sternotomy. During MICS-CABG, the device was able to displace the heart without crowding the operative field.
Conclusions: The new heart positioner, Tentacles NEO, is a useful and practical heart positioner suitable for MICS-CABG.
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