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UK research has confirmed that off-pump coronary artery bypass grafts are safer for your brain that on-pump. Coronary artery bypass grafts - CAGS are what the cognoscenti call them - are still among the commonest blood vessel operations performed. The main way of doing the procedure is to connect you to a pump which puts oxygen into the blood and keeps the circulation going while the blocked artery's being replaced. And the trouble with the pump is that it can knock of bits of your brain in the process. Usually it's minor and barely noticeable if there at all but some people can be quite markedly affected in their thinking ability, memory and even ability to move around. That's why some heart surgeons have taken to operating without the pump - on a beating heart in the belief that while the technique is harder - a moving target - the overall outcome will be better. This hasn't been tested much scientifically but a randomised trial from the UK has confirmed that off-pump CAGS are safer for your brain that on-pump. So if you need new arteries, pump the surgeon for his or her pump policy and if it's off-pump, hope the surgeon doesn't have shaky hands.
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