 |
|
Medical Health Tests >>
Ask a question >>
Medical Tests |
A Coronary Artery Bypass Graft Surgery?
(April 7, 2010)
|
Coronary artery bypass graft surgery (CABG) is a surgical procedure conducted to improve the flow of blood to the heart in people with severe coronary artery disease (CAD). Other terms for this are coronary artery bypass surgery or heart bypass or bypass surgery. CABG is just one treatment for coronary artery disease. Your doctor is the best person to decide if you need CABG. It will probably be carried out only after other options like angioplasty and medication have been tried first.
During the surgery, a healthy vein or artery is grafted from another part of the body to the blocked coronary artery. The healthy vein goes around (bypasses) the blocked portion of the artery and thus enables the blood to get to the heart muscle. This surgery is usually performed with the heart stopped. The number of arteries that need to be bypassed will determine whether you would have to undergo a single bypass, double bypass, triple bypass, quadruple bypass or quintuple bypass. A quintuple bypass is not very common. A greater number of bypasses does not mean you are extremely ill or a lesser number that you are healthier. It depends on the number of suitable target grafts the cardiothoracic surgeon can find. The coronary may be unsuitable for bypass if it is too calcified, or is too small or if it is located within the heart muscle instead of the heart’s surface.
Various tests such as EKG, chest x-ray, angiography, cardiac catheterization, blood tests and an echocardiogram will be carried out before you undergo surgery.
The different types of coronary artery bypass graft surgery are:-
Traditional Coronary Artery Bypass Grafting: This usually lasts between 3-5 hours - it depends on the number of arteries which need to be bypassed. Nontraditional Coronary Artery Bypass Grafting: This includes Off Pump CABG and minimally invasive CABG Minimally Invasive Direct Coronary Artery Bypass Grafting
There are generally no complications from CABG but risks include:
Fever
Pain
Heart attack/stroke
Reaction to anesthesia
Bleeding and wound infections
Sometimes, even death
People who suffer from diabetes, lung disease, kidney disease, peripheral vascular disease, are usually over 70 years of age. People who have a history of smoking are at more risk for developing the above complications. This could also occur if CABG is performed in an emergency.
Recovery usually takes about 6-12 weeks. Normal activities can be resumed about 6 weeks after surgery, but do check with your doctor first. CABG is not a cure for CAD. The results are usually good; there is a lesser chance for future heart attacks, lesser symptoms of CAD and also longer lifespan as well.
|
|
Submitted by M T on April 7, 2010 at 03:23
|
|
|
|
Read more questions in Medical Tests
|
|
|
|
| |
|
|
|
|
 Today's
Poll | |