What is coronary artery bypass graft (CABG) surgery?
Coronary artery bypass graft (CABG) surgery is performed about 350,000 times annually in the United States itself and the number goes on increasing when you calculate around the world, making it one of the most commonly performed major operations.
CABG surgery is advised for selected groups of patients with significant narrowing and blockages of the heart arteries (coronary artery disease). CABG surgery creates new routes around narrowed and blocked arteries, allowing sufficient blood flow to deliver oxygen and nutrients to the heart muscles.
Why It Is Done?
Bypass surgery is usually performed for heart attack only when other treatments, such as medicine and angioplasty with or without stenting, are not useful because of the location or extent of the blockage.
How Well It Works
Bypass surgery may be considered a better option for some people who have:
Diabetes.
Disease of the left main coronary artery.
Weakened heart muscle.
Valve disease and need surgery.
Bypass surgery often relieves symptoms of chest pain (angina), improves exercise performance, and reduces the risk of a future heart attack.
Factors that affect these results include the number of coronary arteries that are diseased, the severity of the disease, and the location of the plaque in the coronary arteries.
How is Coronary artery bypass graft (CABG) surgery done?
During a coronary artery bypass graft (CABG), blood flow is rerouted through a new artery or vein that is grafted around diseased sections of your coronary arteries to increase blood flow to the heart muscle tissue. This procedure is also called coronary artery bypass surgery.
This information will focus on traditional open-chest bypass surgery.
For the bypass grafts, your surgeon will use either an artery or a vein from your body.
A vein may be removed from your leg. One end of it is attached to the aorta and the other end to the diseased coronary artery just past the blocked area.
One end of a mammary artery or another artery in the chest may be detached and reattached to the coronary artery just past the blocked area.
A portion of the radial artery in your forearm may be used.
In any case, blood is redirected through the artery or vein graft, detouring the blocked or narrowed artery and increasing blood flow to that region of the heart.
What To Expect After Surgery?
After surgery, there will be a short stay of 02 days in the intensive care unit (ICU). In the ICU where you will likely have continuous monitoring of your heart activity.
Recovery includes physical therapy, respiratory therapy, occupational therapy, and diet counseling. You will typically stay in the hospital for 07 days after open-chest bypass surgery.
Recovery
After you are discharged from the hospital, your recovery at home takes 4 to 6 weeks. Exercise and driving may be resumed after about 2 to 3 weeks. People who are able to return to work can usually do so within 1 to 2 months, depending on the type of work they do.
Risks
Research shows that 98% of people typically do not have recurring angina after CABG surgery. However, 10 to 12 years after surgery, only about half of those remain free of angina. Angina probably returns because plaque continues to build up in the grafted arteries and the other coronary arteries.