“What does a coronary artery bypass surgery involve?”
My husband has been advised to have coronary artery bypass surgery. What does this surgery involve?
3 Answers
Talk with your heart surgeon
Heart bypass surgery is considered a safe and effective surgery that involves opening the chest and placing the patient on heart lung machine and bypass the clogged arteries under general anesthetic.
Most CABG (coronary artery bypass grafting) operations involve making an incision in the chest to perform the surgery and harvesting the bypass conduits (left internal mammary artery, possibly the right internal mammary artery), veins from the leg and possibly the radial artery in the forearm depending on how many bypasses will be done. The operation can be done with the heart beating or with the heart arrested on the heart-lung machine. After the surgery is completed, the chest and any other incisions are closed after placing drains. The breathing tube is removed when the patient is stable. Hospital discharge occurs in 4-6 days if no problems arise.
