Bypass Surgery

Modalities for undergoing bypass surgery

Coronary artery bypass graft or coronary artery bypass surgery and commonly called as bypass surgery is a surgical operation carried out to lessening the chance of death for the disease of coronary arteries by relieving the angina. Veins or arteries from other parts of the body of the patient is transplanted into the coronary artery in order to avoid the atherosclerotic blockings and thereby ensuring adequate blood supply to the arteries of the coronary.

For undergoing the bypass surgery, the patient is taken into the operations theatre and laid down on the operation table. The patient is then made unconscious with the application of anaesthesia. With the help of endotracheal tube, the assistant or the anaesthetist starts mechanical ventilation. The patient is kept in a condition of general anaesthesia with the constant supply of the Propofol in slower pace by means of injection. Then median sterntomy is performed for opening the chest and subsequently a surgeon examines the heart. If the bypass surgery is conducted avoiding ‘off-pump’ system, then for stabilizing the heart, the surgeon keeps other devices handy. Then the surgeon sews end part of the graft from one side into the coronary arteries and the other side is joined with the aorta. After removing the stabilizing devices, the heart is again restarted. Application of Protamin is continued for reversing the heparin effects.

When the bypass surgery is over, then the patient is removed from the operation theatre and placed in the Intensive Care Unit for gradual recovery and rest. After keeping the patient in the Intensive Care Unit for one or two days, he or she is then sent to the general ward and thus the whole process of bypass surgery is completed. Bypass surgery is nowadays takes place in Nursing Homes also where the same procedures are applied as in cases of general hospitals.