Transmyocardial Revascularization (TMR)

If you’re living with chronic chest pain and have run out of treatment options, Transmyocardial Revascularization (TMR) is a revolutionary laser surgery that may help.

Our award-winning cardiac surgeons at Alta Bates Summit Medical Center have used TMR to successfully treat the chest pain of many heart patients in the San Francisco East Bay area.

Numerous studies have shown a significant improvement in patients undergoing laser revascularization, including:

• Chest pain relief
• Improved quality of life
• Fewer visits to the Emergency Department
• Decrease in medications
• Improved blood flow to the heart

How TMR Works

During TMR, the surgeon uses a laser beam to create channels through the wall of the heart, restoring blood flow and oxygen.

To perform the procedure, the surgeon makes a small incision on the left side of the chest and positions the laser hand piece outside of the oxygen-deprived areas of the heart.

With each heartbeat, the surgeon shoots 1 mm channels through the heart muscle into the heart chamber. The outside of the channel seals within minutes, but the thin bloodline remains open through the heart.

Because the heart continues to beat during the procedure, there is no need to use a heart/lung bypass machine.

Patients show immediate results in their level of pain as well as their exercise tolerance. After TMR surgery, they are usually able to resume many activities and enjoy a greatly improved quality of life.

This procedure gives new hope to patients who are:

• Suffering from severe angina despite taking medications
• Limited in their activity due to their chest pain
• Too ill to have coronary artery bypass surgery or angioplasty

Find a Cardiologist or Heart Specialist

Use our online Find a Doctor tool to find a heart specialist in the San Francisco East Bay area who can determine the best diagnostic and treatment options for your unique needs.

About the Cardiovascular Center of Excellence

At Alta Bates Summit Medical Center, our heart specialists deliver compassionate patient care using leading-edge procedures, to patients living throughout the San Francisco East Bay area. While our cardiac services are located in Berkeley and Oakland, patients come to our heart center from Hayward, Pleasanton, Lafayette, and other East Bay communities as well as from greater California and the United States to seek the best cardiac hospital care available. Our experienced team of top heart and cardiovascular specialists strive to work with each patient to identify the best treatment options for heart and vascular conditions. Whether you need a top heart surgeon (or specialist), a cardiac specialist, a vascular or thoracic surgeon, or one of our best-in-class cardiothoracic specialists - our doctors, nurses and technologists will work with you to strive for the best cardiovascular care for your unique needs. We strive to be the best cardiac hospital not just in the San Francisco East Bay but for every patient who enters our heart center, whether they come from Oakland, Berkeley, or beyond the Bay Area.