Bypass Heart
Surgery is a surgery done to create bypass for supplying blood and oxygen
to the heart when normal supplying arteries get blocked. In the surgery,
a healthier vein/artery from a different part of the body is connected
or grafted to the blocked artery.
In this way, maximum four blocked arteries can be bypassed.
Need for
Bypass Heart Surgery
Major factor that demands Bypass Heart Surgery is the occurrence of Coronary
Artery Disease (CAD) in the Patient. What is CAD? Arteries are responsible
for carrying blood from heart to other parts of body. Due to diet and
other reasons, plaque forms in the arteries. When this narrows the arteries
by about 70% then it is termed as blocked. When the arteries are blocked,
the pumping action of heart is weakened and this is known as CAD. When
a patient is infected by CAD then Bypass Heart Surgery is essential to
cure the patient.
Pre Surgery
Tests
Before performing the Bypass Heart Surgery, the surgeon will check the
patient’s cardiovascular system, pulse and conduct other tests like
ECG test, Stress test, Echocardiogram test, Angiogram, etc. The patient’s
history of other diseases will also be noted. A general health check up
is done prior to the surgery.
Bypass
Heart Surgery Procedure
Initially the patient will be given anesthesia and made asleep during
the Surgery. The surgeon will then make a surgical cut of about 6-8 inches
at the middle of the patient’s chest. Then the breastbone of the
patient will be opened and the heart, blood vessels, heart are made visible
to perform the surgery. After that, the patient’s heart will be stopped
and an external bypass pump or heart-lung bypass machine will be connected.
This machine functions and performs as the heart throughout the surgery.
Then the surgeon will take a vein or artery from other parts of the body.
One end of this artery will be connected to the coronary artery and other
end to the aorta. Generally the arteries taken from other parts include
leg, blood vessel in the chest called as internal mammary artery (IMA),
radial artery from the wrist, etc. After the bypass or grafting is done,
the breastbone is closed with a wire. Also the surgical cut initially
made will be stitched finally.
Normally
this surgery will take about 4 to 6 hours and when it is completed, the
patient will be moved to intensive care unit (ICU) for observation.
Types
of Bypass Heart Surgery
Bypass Heart Surgery may also be termed as Coronary Artery Bypass Grafting
/ Coronary Artery Bypass Surgery. There are various types of Bypass Heart
Surgery namely Off Pump Coronary Artery Bypass Grafting (OPCAB), Minimally
Invasive Direct Coronary Artery Bypass Grafting, Port Access Coronary
Artery Bypass Grafting, and many more.
