As a cardiac surgeon we perform wide range of surgeries, one of which is bypass surgery. Like any organ in the body the heart is also supplied by vessels, called Coronary arteries. Blockages in these vessels results in heart attacks and these blockages can be treated via Bypass surgery.
For most cardiac surgeries we have to stop the heart as it is difficult to operate on something which is moving and jumping constantly. During this period when the heart is stopped, the function of the heart i.e supplying blood to other organs is handled by a machine called as the cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB) machine . So any heart surgery which uses the CPB machine is called open heart surgery.
Bypass surgery can be performed both with and without the CPB machine and also with and without stopping the heart. In today’s era we have mastered the art of performing this complex surgery without the use of the CPB machine and also without arresting the heart. It has shown to reduce postoperative complications and also enable faster recovery with comparable outcomes.
Most of the surgeries we perform including bypass surgery is via a midline sternotomy. In which we have to crack open the bone in the centre of the chest. And then sew it back up after surgery using steel wires leaving behind a huge scar.
The latest advancement in bypass surgery is that we can perform it via small incisions in the side of the chest or using the robot, avoiding breaking bones in the chest, facilitating early recovery, reducing post op pain and a small scar