Cardiac surgeon
Cardiac surgeon is a surgeon who removes pathologies of the cardiovascular system.
They turn to cardiac surgeons in cases when medical conservative treatment of diseases of the cardiovascular system is impossible or leads to the progression of the disease.
Cardiac surgery (otherwise - cardiothoracic surgery) refers to the field of cardiology and surgery and today is considered one of the most effective methods of treating coronary heart disease, which prevents the development of myocardial infarction.
Cardiac surgeons work, as a rule, in large multidisciplinary hospitals with corresponding departments or in centers of cardiology and cardiovascular surgery, which is associated with the need to have specialized equipment and an intensive care unit equipped with modern medical technology.
History of the development of cardiology
At the end of the 19th century, no heart surgery was performed. Compared with traditional surgery, the foundations of which were laid by Hippocrates and the Arab scientist Avicenna, the development of cardiac surgery became possible thanks to the discovery of anesthesia and the development of medical technologies. Open heart surgery was first carried out in the 50s of the last century, and since that time cardiac surgery began its rapid development.
The impetus for the development of such a medical specialty as a cardiac surgeon was not only the development of medicine, but also the high demand for cardiac surgery.
Heart disease statistics are constantly getting worse. And this is due not only to the number of those suffering from these diseases, but also to the high mortality rate - according to the available data, more than half of all deaths are due to diseases of the cardiovascular system.
Types of cardiac surgery
Cardiac surgeons are most in demand for coronary heart disease. It is possible to single out the main types of operations that are now quite successfully carried out by cardiac surgeons around the world. Among them:
- Coronary artery bypass grafting, which is recognized as the most effective method for coronary heart disease. The method of minimally invasive coronary artery bypass grafting is the most progressive and safe method for the patient. This implies that a cardiac surgeon performs an operation on a beating heart without stopping it. The main factor in the success of bypass surgery is the high qualification of a cardiac surgeon, who must have experience in successfully performing a large number of such operations;
- Operations on the aortic valve, which are indicated for aortic defects and include both plastic and replacement of the aortic valve. Replacing the heart valve by cardiac surgeons today is widely and universally worked out. The new valve is installed either from biological material (from the tissue of the heart of a pig or horse) or from metal, which is more practical, but after its installation, it is necessary to take anticoagulants (medicines that prevent blood from clotting);
- Bentall's operation, which cardiac surgeons perform in the case of aneurysm of the ascending aorta with aortic insufficiency;
- Heart transplant, used for end-stage heart failure in cases where the condition cannot be improved with traditional heart surgery or conservative therapy.
Pediatric cardiac surgeon
Pediatric cardiac surgeons are in-demand specialists in the elimination of congenital heart and vascular pathologies, which are a fairly frequent pathology (about 8 sick children for every thousand newborns). Modern cardiac surgery is especially effective in the first six months of life. The most successful are the operations of pediatric cardiac surgeons to create new cardiac ducts equipped with valves.
An important factor determining the professionalism of a cardiac surgeon is the place of his internship after graduation from the university. So, for a pediatric cardiac surgeon, the best clinics for practical training and internship are specialized medical institutions in Germany, the USA and Israel, whose doctors have accumulated vast experience in this area.
One of the leading clinics in the world ranking in terms of quality, quantity and level of complexity of operations for children with congenital heart defects is the Center for Cardiac Surgery for Congenital Heart Diseases of the University of Michigan.
The center's cardiac surgeons specialize in the surgical treatment of children with hypoplasia of the left heart (a critical heart defect), from which 95 percent of children die during the first year of life. Pediatric cardiac surgeons of this center have achieved not only success in its treatment, but also in the postoperative care of children.
Today, operations performed by pediatric cardiac surgeons with incorrect positioning of arteries in infants can be called stably successful today.
How to get the profession of a cardiac surgeon
In order to work as a cardiac surgeon, it is necessary to obtain a higher medical education in the specialty "General Medicine", after which it is necessary to complete an internship and residency in the specialty "Cardiac surgery".
For all its advantages, heart surgery is a complex and very risky treatment. And this is primarily due to the professionalism of the cardiac surgeon, who, in addition to surgical skills, must have analytical skills in order to weigh all the possible risks and benefits of the operation.
Also, the success of operations depends on the knowledge of the cardiac surgeon in many related medical specialties - functional diagnostics, anesthesiology, topographic anatomy.
The need for great endurance of the cardiac surgeon and his ability to work in a team is associated with the duration of the operations performed (6-12 hours), as well as the fact that they require the work of a whole team of doctors, consisting, as a rule, of at least four people.
High requirements are usually imposed on the personal qualities of a cardiac surgeon, including:
- Natural science inclination;
- Stress resistance;
- Good health;
- A responsibility;
- Desire to help people;
- Readiness for justified risk;
- Precise coordination of movements.
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