Byepass Surgery – Understanding the Purpose & Procedure

1. Just by the mention of a “bypass surgery”, it generates a gasps of shock and surprise. Of course it is a major surgery to save you from life threatening heart condition. But with the advancement of medical science and invention of highly sophisticated surgical instruments being used nowadays, bypass surgery has a success rate of 99.5%.

   Bypass Surgery is also known as CABG – Coronary Artery Bypass Grafting.

   “CABG remains the most common cardiac surgery performed today worldwide.” Which implies that though it involves operating the most vital organ of the body, a bypass surgery isn’t as intimidating as it once used to be.

   Over 60,000 patients undergo a bypass surgery every year and even this number is alarmingly on a rise.

   PURPOSE – WHY IS IT NEEDED?

   The blood vessels that carry blood to the heart are called coronary arteries. Overtime due to unhealthy lifestyle habits, plaque starts to build up on the inner walls of the artery and the passage get narrowed. This will reduce the blood flow to the heart.

   

   The decreased blood supply to the heart causes stress on the heart muscles. This condition is known as Coronary Artery Disease (CAD) or atherosclerosis and puts the person at a high risk of a heart attack due lack of blood supply.

   A bypass surgery is highly needed when the blockage is too severe to be managed with medications.

   If you develop a coronary artery disease, you may be referred to bypass surgeon to discuss the bypass surgery. During bypass surgery, blood vessels from another part of your body are used to bypass blocked arteries.

   In this operation the bypass surgeon removes the blocked or damaged arteries replaces it with a healthy one. This allows more blood and oxygen to flow to your heart.

   UNDERSTANDING THE PROCEDURE

   Before the surgery, the patient is given an Intravenous therapy (IV), through which medication, fluids and anaesthesia are given to the patient.

   Typical bypass surgery lasts for 3-6 hours. An incision is made below the sternum and the rib cage is spread apart to expose the heart. Depending on the condition of patients, they might be put on a heart-lung machine or only a part of the heart is stabilized or ‘put on hold’ with advanced operating equipment.

   

   A graft (tissues from either the thoracic arteries or from the legs) is then used to redirect the blood vessel around the blockages so as to ‘bypass’ the blockage and ensure a continuous supply of blood to the heart.

   WHAT TO EXPECT AFTER A BYPASS SURGERY?

   As a Bypass Surgery patient, you just have undergone a major surgery to save you from life threatening heart condition. It is a heart surgery that removes blocked artery and replaces it with a healthy artery.

   Many patients have experienced a better and healthy life after a bypass surgery. But all these effectiveness depends on a lot of factors, which includes post-surgery recovery as the main factor. Hence the patients are recommended to be under the care of a dedicated caregiver at least for few weeks post-surgery.

   What are things to expect after a bypass surgery? What should you do to have a smooth recovery after your heart surgery? READ HERE - What to Expect After CABG

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