To understand the causes, symptoms and treatments
of coronary artery surgery, it is first essential to know what is coronary
artery bypass surgery. Also referred to as coronary artery bypass graft
surgery (CABG), bypass surgery of heart or heart bypass surgery is primarily
done to get relief from coronary artery disease and angina. The cardiac
bypass surgery not only eliminates the symptoms of coronary artery disease
but also allows the patients to resume their routine lifestyles. It
drastically reduces the risk of heart attacks.
The building up of plaque in the artery wall is known
as Atherosclerosis. This condition is also regarded as one of the primary
reasons for coronary bypass surgery. The arteries passages become narrow
and hard, thereby reducing flexibility. The reasons for plaque accumulation
are high cholesterol levels, unhealthy lifestyle and high blood pressure.
The arteries become so narrow that the blood flow supply to the heart
is drastically reduced, as a result of which the heart muscle has very
little amount of oxygen left, further leading to tissue damage.
The surgical procedure is performed by restoring the
flow of the blood to the heart muscle so as to divert the blood flow
around a blocked artery section in the heart. The procedure makes use
of a healthy blood vessel that is taken from arm, abdomen or chest and
legs. This healthy blood vessel is then connected to the heart’s other
arteries in order to bypass the blood around the blocked area. This
surgery is yet another option to improve the flow of blood into the
heart. Heart disease is treated by the means of this surgery.
To identify the candidates for this surgery, diagnostic
tests are done to know the type, location and degree of coronary artery
disease. The surgeon determines the best treatment by evaluating the
tests, age, the structure of the heart, lifestyle, other medical conditions
and the severity of the disease symptoms. The surgeon makes use of several
heart bypass grafts in order to decide the suitable graft on the basis
of the blockage location, size of the coronary arteries and the amount
of blockage. The different types of grafts used are radial artery, internal
mammary arteries, inferior epigastric artery, gastroepiploic artery
and saphenous veins. Many coronary arteries are bypassed during the
procedure namely quintuple bypass surgery, quadruple bypass surgery,
single bypass surgery, double bypass surgery and triple bypass surgery.
It basically refers to the number of coronary arteries bypassed during
the procedure.
The heart bypass surgery recovery involves the reduction
of risk factors of heart disease that also includes certain strategies
to help the patients to stop smoking, exercising regularly, reducing
stress, controlling high blood pressure and improving the cholesterol
levels. Some medications are also required for a complete patient’s
recovery. These medications are meant to be taken every day that helps
in preventing the chest pain and the medication drugs also improves
the survival rate. Some of the medications prescribed are beta blockers,
ACE inhibitor, nitrates and antiplatelet therapy.
The surgical procedure of minimally invasive coronary
artery bypass is performed for those patients who needs left internal
mammary artery bypass graft leading to left anterior descending artery.
Keyhole approaches (video-assisted or thoracoscopic surgery and port
access), robotic coronary artery bypass surgery and endoscopic approaches
are the three minimally invasive procedures. The robotic assisted CABG (coronary artery bypass graft surgery) involves small incisions that
results in less blood loss, pain and no rib spreading. The recovery
is also faster in the case of robotic assisted CABG.