People often hear about heart bypass surgery. But they don’t know what it is and how it is done. Today I would like to tell them what the meaning of “Heart Bypass Surgery” means and when it requires. I came to know about it when I saw a youtube video.
This video is created by "Nucleus Medical Media"
Heart bypass surgery requires when one or more arteries gets blocked and can’t able to drive blood normally to heart muscle. In this scenario, the risk of heart attack increases. This is also known as coronary artery disease.
In order to carry on bypass surgery, doctors need an artery or vein which can be collected from another section of the patient’s body. This artery or vein should be healthy so that after surgery it can work normally and help blood flow to heart muscle. In this process, just a new artery or vein is grafted such a way so that it can bypass the blocked section of the coronary artery and make the blood flow normal with oxygen and necessary nutrition to heart muscle. To perform this surgery, it requires a general anesthesia so that the patient can be put into sleep while operation.
During the operation, a tube is required to put into patients mouth which reach up to the throat so that the patient can breathe easily. During or after surgery, it is not possible for the patient to move from the bed. So it also needs a catheter to drain the patient urine outside the body. It is connected with patient’s bladder which stores urine. A traditional bypass surgery requires a surgical cut in the skin or flesh to reach the patient’s heart. A surgical cut is made on sternum and then remove the ribcage which covers the heart. During the operation, the patient’s heart stops functioning. Now you may ask a question that if heart stops function, then how patient survives. You are right. The patient can survive with the help of cardiopulmonary bypass pump or heart-lung function which controls the whole circulatory system of the patient.
This machine temporarily controls all circulatory systems and provides life support to the patient. It helps the doctors perform surgery successfully because while surgery the heart must be stopped otherwise surgery is not possible. More technical terms are given below:
One of two blood vessels is typically used for the grafts the internal thoracic artery in the chest or the saphenous vein in the leg. For the internal thoracic artery graft your surgeon will leave the upper end attached to the subclavian artery and divert the lower end from your chest wall to your coronary artery just beyond the blockage. Your surgeon will then sew the graft into place.
For the saphenous vein graft your surgeon will suture one end to the aorta and the other end to the narrowed artery just beyond the blockage. With the grafts securely in place your surgeon will use electrical signals to restore the heartbeat and attach a temporary pacemaker to the heart. Once your heart is again beating normally the heart-lung machine will be disconnected. Your surgeon will wire the breastbone back together and suture the skin incision closed. A temporary drainage tube will be placed through the skin beneath the incision.
Two other types of cabbage procedures have recently been developed off-pump and minimally invasive bypass surgery. Off-pump cabbage is also called “beating heart bypass grafting” because the heart isn’t stopped and a heart-lung machine isn’t used. Instead a mechanical device is used to steady the part of the heart where grafting is being done. Surgeons perform minimally invasive bypass procedures using specially designed instruments inserted through small incisions or ports in the chest. These procedures sometimes require a heart-lung machine.
When the surgery gets over, the patient is transferred to Intensive Care Unit (ICU) where he gets all the medical instrument facilities including oxygen. Doctors may keep pacing wire connected to control the heart rate at the initial stage. In this situation chest tube won’t be removed as it may require to flow out the extra blood and air from the chest cavity. Breathing tube will be removed when the patient will feel comfortable to breathe easily without any problem. He may further require oxygen mask. Depending on the development in the patient’s health, all kinds of medical instruments will be removed.