CABG is the most common open-heart surgery that helps people improve their heart’s blood flow. It is beneficial for people who are suffering from severe CHD or coronary heart disease. In this condition, the inner side of the coronary arteries builds up a waxy material called plaque. The primary function of these arteries is to provide blood-rich oxygen to the heart.
However, the artery narrows due to plaque buildup. As a result, it does not allow blood to pass through into the heart muscles. Moreover, if the condition becomes severe, it causes shortness of breath, chest pain, heart attack, discomfort, and sometimes, sudden death.
According to WHO statistics data, in 2008, there was a total death of 17.3 million people worldwide, of which 7.3 million died because of CAD.
To cure this disease, you need CABG, in which the doctor uses a healthy vein or artery from the body and grafts it to the blocked one around the heart. This process creates a new passage for the oxygen-rich blood to easily pass through into the heart muscle.
Types of CABG
The type of bypass surgery you undergo will depend on the number of blocked arteries. Seeing your condition, the doctor will recommend any of the following surgery:
Double bypass: To repair two blocked arteries.
Single bypass: To correct a single blocked artery.
Triple bypass: Here, three arteries are blocked.
Quadruple bypass: To repair four blocked arteries.
Depending on the number of arteries blocked, you can go through heart failure, heart attack, or cardiac arrest. This number determines the severity of the condition, and the more arteries are blocked, the more complex the surgery is.
Risks of CABG
Just like every other open-heart surgery, bypass surgery also has some complications. However, the procedure has dramatically improved with the advancement of the techniques. In fact, according to a study, it has become the most studied surgery in the history of operations. It has positively increased the number of successful surgeries. But if in case you suffer complications, it will mainly include:
Blood clots
Arrhythmia
Bleeding
Kidney failure
Chest pain
Heart attack or stroke
Infection
CABG Procedure Steps
As soon as you arrive, the doctor will give you general anaesthesia to relieve all the pain during the surgery. In the next step, the surgeons will prepare your artery or remove the healthy vein that they will use to perform bypass grafts.
Next, in the process, the doctor will make a small cut down your chest centre through your breast bone or sternum. Having a clear view of the heart and the blocked coronary artery is essential.
Now, the doctors will stop your heart for a short period to efficiently perform surgery on a still heart. Meanwhile, a heart-lung bypass will take over the work of the heart and the lungs. The device will pump blood and provide oxygen to the body. This process is also called on-pump surgery.
After successfully putting the grafts in place, the doctors turn off the machine pump, and your heart starts beating as usual. However, the doctors sometimes perform the surgery while your heart still beats. In this case, there is no need for a heart-lung machine, and the process is known as off-pump or beating heart surgery.
After placing the grafts in their proper positions, the surgeons sew one section of the vein in the area below the artery blockage. They attach the other part to a small opening made in the aorta. This opening helps redirect the blood flow around the blocked artery.
Also, if the doctor used a thoracic artery, he connected one end to the coronary artery while the other end stayed attached to the aorta.
After the surgeons place the temporary wire and chest tube in front of the sternum, it is closed with special ones. You will receive internal stitches or external stitches. Furthermore, they use a chest tube to drain the blood. The surgery mostly lasts for three to five hours.
Conclusion
Several people opt for coronary artery bypass surgery to cure their problems related to blocked heart arteries. Because of advanced technology, it helps to avoid many severe conditions and has relatively fewer complications. The surgery usually lasts 3 to 5 hours and takes 6 to 8 weeks to recover.
FAQs
What is Coronary Artery Bypass Graft (CABG)? CABG is a heart surgery that improves blood flow by bypassing blocked arteries using a healthy blood vessel from another body part.
Who needs CABG surgery? CABG is typically recommended for people with severe coronary heart disease (CHD) or those experiencing chest pain, shortness of breath, or at risk of a heart attack.
How long does CABG surgery take? CABG surgery usually takes between 3 to 5 hours, depending on the number of blocked arteries needing bypass.
What are the risks associated with CABG? CABG has some risks, including blood clots, infection, arrhythmia, and bleeding, though advancements have increased its success rates significantly.
What is the recovery period after CABG surgery? Full recovery from CABG surgery generally takes 6 to 8 weeks, during which follow-up visits and lifestyle changes are essential for optimal healing.
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