Type of Surgery
Information
Last updated: 11/24/2009
Coronary artery bypass graft surgery is major surgery and patients may experience any of the normal complications associated with major surgery and anesthesia, such as the risk of bleeding, pneumonia, or infection. Possible complications include:
- graft...
closure or blockage - development of blockages in other arteries
- damage to the aorta
- long-term development of atherosclerotic disease of saphenous vein grafts
- abnormal heart rhythms
- high or low blood pressure
- recurrence of angina
- blood clots that can lead to a stroke or heart attack
- kidney failure
- depression or severe mood swings
- possible short-term memory loss, difficulty thinking clearly, and problems concentrating for long periods (These effects generally subside within six months after surgery.)
There is a higher risk for complications in patients who:
- are heavy smokers
- have a history of lung, kidney, or metabolic diseases
- have diabetes
- have had a recent heart attack
- have a history of angina, ventricular arrhythmias, congestive heart failure, cerebrovascular disease, or mitral regurgitation
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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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Other Information
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
How many open-heart surgeries are performed each year? In 2005 in the United States, these procedures were performed: Valve replacements 106,000 Bypass (cardiac revascularization) 469,000 Heart transplants (performed in 2006) 2,192 Total open-heart procedures 699,000.
From: American Heart Association
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