What do I need to know about open heart surgery?
What do I need to know about open heart surgery?
Open heart surgery is an operation to repair a fault or damage in the heart. The operation requires the surgeon to open the chest to access the heart. The most common type of open heart surgery is a coronary artery bypass. The coronary arteries supply the heart with blood.
What do you need at home after open heart surgery?
Heart surgery aftercare at home will include:
- Caring for your incision and monitoring for signs of infection.
- Gradually resuming your normal physical activity and improving your heart and lung functions with light exercises, such as walking and strength-training activities involving a chair.
How many arteries can you have bypass surgery on?
It is common for three or four coronary arteries to be bypassed during surgery. Coronary artery bypass surgery restores normal blood flow to the heart by creating a “detour” (bypass) around the blocked artery/arteries. This is done by using a healthy blood vessel, called a graft.
What do you need to know about open heart surgery?
The new arteries and veins detour blood flow around the plaque, keeping blood flowing to the heart muscle. Traditionally, heart valve replacement and repair and surgery to correct structural defects in the heart have also required open-heart surgery. The chest (including the breastbone, or sternum) is cut open to expose the heart.
What kind of surgery is done on the heart?
Cardiac surgeons may perform open-heart surgery to correct severe disease in the coronary arteries that supply blood to the heart, to repair or replace heart valves or to fix structural heart defects.
How is a bypass machine used in open heart surgery?
Once the heart is visible, the patient may be connected to a heart-lung bypass machine. The machine moves blood away from the heart so that the surgeon can operate. Some newer procedures do not use this machine. The surgeon uses a healthy vein or artery to make a new path around the blocked artery.
What kind of anesthesia do you need for open heart surgery?
The patient is given general anesthesia. This ensures that they will be asleep and pain free through the whole surgery. The surgeon makes an 8- to 10-inch cut in the chest. The surgeon cuts through all or part of the patient’s breastbone to expose the heart.
When does a person need open heart surgery?
Open heart surgery is used to treat a variety of heart conditions. The most common is coronary artery bypass surgery. This is most commonly done in patients with multivessel atherosclerotic disease who are suffering from angina or heart attack. The next is valvular disease.
Cardiac surgeons may perform open-heart surgery to correct severe disease in the coronary arteries that supply blood to the heart, to repair or replace heart valves or to fix structural heart defects.
Why are there small incisions in open heart surgery?
This allows the grafted artery to “bypass” the blocked artery and bring fresh blood to the heart. Open-heart surgery is sometimes called traditional heart surgery. Today, many new heart procedures can be performed with only small incisions, not wide openings.
Where are the veins taken in open heart surgery?
It is the most common open heart surgery. In this operation arteries and/or veins are used to bypass the blockage and improve the blood supply to the heart. The arteries can be taken either from inside the chest wall, or the arm. The veins are typically taken from the leg.