Intra-aortic balloon pumping in the elderly: percutaneous versus surgical catheter insertion

The feasibility and safety of percutaneous versus surgical intra-aortic balloon pumping (IABP) in the elderly were evaluated in 45 patients who were over 65 years of age (range 65–79). All the patients required counterpulsation for complicated acute myocardial infarction. IABP insertion was attempted by the surgical technique in 22 patients, while the percutaneous approach was performed in 23. A consistent improvement in the incidence rale of successful insertion was attained with the use of the percutaneous technique as compared with the surgical one (91.3% v. 59.1%, P