11.   Surgeons then open the chest and remove areas of the worst functioning tissues using a stapling device that cuts off tissue as it clamps the wound shut.

12.   That procedure does not require surgeons to open the chest.

13.   The new systems allow a surgeon to perform a coronary artery bypass without cracking open the chest.

14.   Then he opened her chest and removed most of her heart.

15.   They compared disease severity and survival among blacks and whites who later underwent bypass surgery or coronary angioplasty, a procedure that clears clogged arteries without opening the chest.

16.   Two major companies, Heartport Inc. and CardioThoracic Systems Inc., have developed systems that allow surgeons to perform heart bypasses without cracking open the chest.

17.   Doctors slice open the chest and pry apart the ribs.

18.   If the shoulders are rounded and pulled in towards the chest, for instance, it is very difficult to straighten the upper back and open the chest.

19.   In bypass operations, surgeons cut open the chest and graft new blood vessels to increase blood flow to the heart.

20.   Ordinarily, doctors must open the chest to patch weak spots in the aorta.