INTERVENTIONAL CARDIOLOGY AND CARDIAC SURGERY

CORONARY BYPASS: THE SURGICAL TECHNIQUE

An incision is made where the graft material, usually the leg, is selected, and the blood vessels are removed.

An incision is then made in the middle of the chest and the sternum is split open. There will then be a creation of extra-corporeal circulation so that the heart can stop and the machine replaces it.

The harvested blood vessels are then grafted above and below the blocked artery. Depending on whether it is a single, double, triple or quadruple coronary artery bypass, more than one graft will have to be performed.

Once the vessels are in place, the catheters are removed from the heart, the blood pump is removed and the heart is restarted so that it resumes its function. The sternum is closed and fixed with small wires in irons and the skin of the chest is sewn with stitches.

CORONARY BYPASS: AFTER THE TREATMENT

Patients will usually spend a short recovery period in the intensive care unit (ICU) before being transferred to a normal room for 1-2 weeks.

After discharge from the hospital, patients will need to be very careful for the following weeks.

THINGS TO KNOW ABOUT CORONARY BYPASS (PACDEM)

Success rate:

This operation has a five-year survival rate of 90%.

Not recommended:

Older patients

Patients with serious health problems

Potential risks:

Infection

Bleeding

Irregular heartbeat

Heart attack

stroke

Blood clots