World's First Randomized Trial Finds Less-Invasive Heart Bypass Surgery Speeds Recovery

An international clinical trial, the MIST Trial, led by the Ottawa Heart Institute and published in The Lancet, has demonstrated that a minimally invasive approach to coronary artery bypass surgery (MICS CABG) allows patients to recover more quickly while maintaining the same safety and one-year outcomes as conventional bypass surgery. This technique, developed in Ottawa, uses a small incision between the ribs, avoiding the need to divide the breastbone, which can lead to pain, infection, and longer recovery times. Patients undergoing the minimally invasive procedure reported better physical recovery one month post-surgery, required fewer blood transfusions, and spent less time on mechanical ventilation.