Treatments - CABG

CARDIAC SURGERY
This is surgery on the heart and/or great vessels. Frequently, it is done to treat complications of ischaemic heart disease (for example, coronary artery bypass grafting), correct congenital heart disease, or treat valvular heart disease created by various causes including endocarditis. It also includes heart transplantation.

Coronary artery bypass operations (CABG)
Purpose of the operation
The main purpose is to relieve angina (chest pains), especially if other less invasive methods are not suitable. The other purpose of the operation is to reduce the risk of heart attacks in the future. In some patients, the narrowing and blockages of arteries in the heart make heart attacks more likely. Some patients may consider having a heart bypass operation to reduce the risk of heart attack, even if they do not have troublesome angina and for some people it may be possible to open up a coronary artery using a different surgical technique, known as angioplasty, rather than a bypass.

Effect on patients
This is a big operation. It is not terribly painful, but there is pain afterwards. Usually the chest, back, neck, shoulders and legs can hurt, but this is easily treated with standard painkillers.

The operation also makes patients feel tired and lacking in energy for the first few weeks.

Usually, angina disappears completely immediately after the operation and stays away for years. In many patients the risk of heart attack is also much less once they have recovered from the operation.

What happens during the operation
The operation is done under general anaesthetic. The anaesthetist puts in many tubes and drips to monitor the patient and to give medicines. The chest is cut over the breastbone. The surgeon then takes a vein (usually from the leg) or artery (usually from inside the chest) and uses it to create a bypass around the blockage in the coronary artery. More than one bypass may be done, depending on how many blockages there are. Often a heart-lung machine is used to keep the blood circulating while the heart is stopped for surgery. Sometimes it is possible to do the operation without a machine (on the beating heart). When the bypasses are done, the heart is restarted, the machine stopped and the wounds are closed.