Type of Surgery
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Last updated: 11/24/2009
Coronary artery bypass graft surgery is widely performed in the United States. It is estimated that more than 800,000 coronary artery bypass graft surgeries are performed worldwide every year. The American Heart Association reports that 519,000 coronary...
artery bypass graft surgeries were performed in the United States in 2000, of which 371,000 were performed on men and 148,000 on women.
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Provides an overview of the circulatory system including the blood vessels that supply the heart. When these coronary arteries become blocked, the vessels need to be bypassed with other blood vessels. The animation describes a coronary artery bypass graft surgery or CABG.
During a coronary artery bypass graft (CABG), the chest is opened to visualize the heart (A). A heart-lung machine takes over the function of the heart during the procedure. A portion of the saphenous vein of the leg is removed (B). This vessel is used to bypass a blockage of the coronary artery. It is attached from the aorta past the point of blockage (C). Another option is to bypass a blockage with the mammary artery (D). The bypass increases blood flow to the area served by the coronary artery (E). (Illustration by Argosy.)
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Coronary artery bypass surgery, also coronary artery bypass graft surgery, and colloquially heart bypass or bypass surgery is a surgical procedure performed to relieve angina and reduce the risk of death from coronary artery disease. Arteries or veins from elsewhere in the patient's body are grafted to the coronary arteries to bypass atherosclerotic narrowings and improve the blood supply to the coronary circulation supplying the myocardium (heart muscle). This surgery is usually performed with the heart stopped, necessitating the usage of cardiopulmonary bypass; techniques are available to perform CABG on a beating heart, so-called "off-pump" surgery.
From http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coronary_artery_bypass_surgery
Other Information
In 2006, 2,192 heart transplantations were performed in the United States. There are 257 transplant hospitals in the United States, 135 of which perform heart transplantations. (http://www.unos.org/)
From: Unos.org
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