Emory Structural Heart and Valve Center

New Capabilities

Site of first two human VECTOR procedures

For nearly six decades, coronary artery bypass surgery has required cracking open the chest—a procedure performed more than 300,000 times annually in the United States alone. In May 2025, a team at Emory University and the National Institutes of Health performed the first human coronary bypass through blood vessels in the leg, leaving the chest intact. The 67-year-old patient, who had no other surgical options, showed no complications at six-month follow-up.

Updated May 26