AUSTRALIA: Doctors perform breakthrough heart surgery

. SYDNEY (ABC News), August 22, 2008: A revolutionary procedure which will reduce the need for open heart surgery in older people has been conducted for the first time in Australia. The new procedure which was developed in the United States enables doctors to replace the aortic valve of the heart without surgery, instead using a valve delivered by catheter that is inserted in the groin. Doctors at Sydney's St Vincent's hospital have become the first in Australia to carry out the procedure on a 92-year-old woman. It is hoped many more elderly patients who are not suitable for open heart surgery will now be eligible for aortic valve replacement. Doctors have described the new procedure as tackling a major frontier in treating coronary disease. Tags: heart-disease, doctors-and-medical-professionals, medical-procedures, australia, sydney-2000