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Preparation
If you're diagnosed with coronary artery disease and one or more of your coronary arteries are
completely blocked, Dr. Moore may recommend coronary artery bypass (CABG) surgery, especially if
angioplasty is not an option. Traditional CABG is open-heart surgery, but less invasive forms of
bypass surgery are now being explored because they require less recovery and healing time. During
the procedure, the surgeon will take a healthy blood vessel from another place in your body and
attached it to a blocked coronary artery. The replacement artery will route blood around the blocked
area of the artery creating a 'bypass' so oxygenated blood can reach your heart muscle.
If you need this procedure, Dr. Moore will refer you to a trusted, experienced, board-certified
cardiothoracic surgeon at Indian River Medical Center.
The surgeon performing the procedure will provide you with specific preparation instructions, which
may include:
- Informing the physician of all medications
- Obtaining pre-surgery blood work, x-rays and other tests
- Abstaining from eating or drinking after midnight the evening prior to the procedure
You may have to stop taking certain medications, such as warfarin therapy, prior to this inpatient
procedure. You also may have to pre-register.
Procedure
Once you have registered, changed into a hospital gown, and been situated in a bed, you'll receive an
intravenous (IV) line that will be used to give you fluids. The IV also will administer general
anesthesia that will put you to sleep during the procedure. Electrodes will be attached to your chest
to monitor your heart, and a cuff will be placed on your arm to monitor your blood pressure.
Once the general anesthesia has taken effect, the surgeon will make an incision in your sternum or
breastbone. By breaking open the sternum, the surgeon will be able to access your heart. Because your
heart cannot beat during the surgery, you will be placed on a heart-lung bypass machine. This machine
will reroute blood from your heart lungs to the machine and ensure that your blood is oxygenated and
pumped properly, while the surgeon works on your heart. If you're having a less invasive form of
bypass surgery, your breastbone will not be broken and you will not be placed on a bypass machine.
The surgeon will then remove a healthy blood vessel from either your leg or the chest wall. The vein
will be 'grafted' to your heart so it can detour blood around the blockage in your coronary artery.
The more blocked arteries you have, the more grafts you'll require. For instance, if you need triple
bypass surgery, you have three blocked arteries that need new vessels grafted around the blockages.
Once the new vessels are grafted, the surgeon will take you off the bypass machine and allow your
blood to pump naturally through your heart. All incisions will then be closed.
Post-procedure>
Following the procedure, you'll be moved to the cardiovascular intensive care unit (CVICU) for one to
three days. You'll be hospitalized for five to seven days following uncomplicated surgery. Once
you're released from the hospital, your recovery will continue at home. Full recovery takes one to
two months. You'll be encouraged to enroll in a cardiac rehabilitation program to help you physically
recuperate from the surgery and reduce your risk for additional coronary artery disease development.
In the weeks following your surgery, you'll see the surgeon and Dr. Moore for follow-up appointments.
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