A historic medical achievement: heart surgery without an incision in the chest.

Coronary artery bypass surgery redirects blood flow around a blockage in the artery that carries it to the heart.

In this case, surgical instruments were inserted and passed through a blood vessel in the patient’s leg, according to a report published in the journal Circulation Cardiovascular Interventions.

The researchers said the findings suggest that in the future, there could be a widely available and less painful alternative to open-heart surgery for those at risk of coronary artery blockage.

“It required some thinking outside the box, but I think we’ve developed a very practical solution,” said Christopher Bruce, lead researcher from the U.S. National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute.

The patient was not a candidate for traditional open-chest coronary artery bypass surgery due to heart failure and old artificial heart valves that were not functioning well.

Six months after the procedure, the patient showed no signs of coronary artery blockage, meaning the new method was successful.

More testing on more patients is needed before the new technology can be used more widely, but its success in the first trial is a big step in that direction.

Bruce said: “I was extremely pleased with the success of the project, from formulating the hypothesis to animal testing to clinical trials .”