Bypass plus angioplasty: The best of both worlds?

In hybrid heart surgery, the blocked or narrowed left anterior descending artery is bypassed with the nearby left mammary artery, while another blocked artery (in this case, the right coronary artery) is opened with angioplasty plus a stent.

Illustration by Scott Leighton

Known as hybrid coronary revascularization, this technique may become more widely available in the future.

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