A coronary artery bypass graft or CABG is performed to improve circulation to heart muscle. In people who severe coronary artery decease. In this procedure a healthy artery or vein from another part of the body is connected or grafted to the blocked coronary artery. The grafted artery or vein bypass the blocked portion of coronary artery carrying oxygen riched blood to heart muscle. One or more coronary arteries maybe bypass during the single operation. Before the surgery, an intravenous line would be started and you maybe given a medication to help you relax. CABG procedure are under general anesthesia which would put you to sleep for the duration of the operation. A breathing tube would be inserted through your mouth and into your throat that help you breath.
A catheter will be placed to your bladder to drain your urine. CABG surgery generally take 3 to 6 hours, during your conventional bypass surgery, your surgeon begins by making a decision in a skin over your breastbone. He or she will begin cut your breastbone and move your rib cage in order to get your heart. The after procedure, your circulatory system would be connected to cardial pulmonary bypass pump or heart lung machine. This machine temporally perform the function of your function of your heart and lung during the surgery, allowing your heart to be stopped while the surgeon sew the grafts in the place. One or two blood vessel, is typically used for the graft.
With the grafts securely emplace, your surgeon will use electrical signal to restore the heart beat and attach a temporary pacemaker to heart. Once, your heart is again beating normally the heart lung machine would be disconnetted. Your surgeon would wire the breastbone back together and sew the skin. A temporary drainage tube would be placed through the skin. Two other types of CABG procedures have recently been developed, Off-pump and Minimally invasive bypass surgery. Off-pump CABG just also called beating heart bypass grafting because the heart isn't stopped and heart lung machine isn't used. Instead a mechanical device is used to steady the part of the heart when grafting is being done. Surgeon performs minimally invasive bypass procedure using specially design instrument. This procedure sometime require a heart lung machine.
After surgery, you'll be taken to Intensive Care Unit (ICU). The activity of your heart would be carefully monitored. If necessary, the pacing wire would be used to temporary control your heart rate. The chest tube would be remained in place to drain excess blood and air from the chest cavity. Once you can breath on your own, your breathing tube would be remove and replace the oxygen mask. The bladder catheter would remain in place. As you recover over the next 3 or 4 days, all of these devices would be gradually removed.