Coronary Artery Bypass Surgery: Treatment for Heart Vessel Blockage

Bypass Surgery

One of the most common diseases seen worldwide and in Turkey is heart disease. Although these diseases generally manifest themselves with serious symptoms, they can sometimes appear in a very silent manner. Developing and evolving latest technology has made great strides in the field of medicine. With this advancing technology, cases that were previously fatal now result successfully, keeping people alive.

Especially in the field of bypass surgery, the methods developed by scientists, combined with the skill and experience of doctors, extend the lifespan of heart patients while ensuring their comfort during and after surgery.

What is Bypass Surgery?

The word bypass means bridging. Bypass surgery is the name of the surgical operation performed to eliminate the disease that occurs as a result of narrowing or blockage in some parts of the arteries that supply the heart.

With this surgical operation, blood vessels prepared by taking from another part of the body are attached in place of the narrowed or blocked vessels, and the patient's damaged vessels are allowed to heal and return to their original function. In this way, the blood flow process continues as before.

How and When is Bypass Surgery Performed?

Heart conditions present themselves with serious symptoms. In such situations, doctors immediately perform surgical intervention.

Surgery performed as a result of blockage or narrowing in the vital vessels around the heart is performed in two ways. Generally, the first is surgery performed while the heart is working.

In the other method, surgery is performed with the heart stopped. It is generally performed as open-heart surgery. After the patient's chest is opened through surgical intervention, the heart and lungs' function is stopped and they are connected to a machine. While machines perform the duties of these vital functions, the doctor performs the bridging surgery to eliminate the narrowing or blockage.

In bypass surgeries, vessels taken from the patient's body are generally used. Most commonly, vessels taken from the patient's left or right breast are used. These vessels can last many more years compared to vessels taken from the leg, for example. Secondly, the vessel is taken from the patient's left arm. Surgical intervention is completed by taking the arteries in the left arm.

Before Bypass Surgery

The manner of preparation before bypass surgery is of vital importance. This preparation is generally as follows:

• If the person has no special condition, hospitalization is done one day before.
• The cardiology specialist, cardiac surgeon, and the anesthesia specialist at the hospital examine and evaluate the patient in detail.
• Actively used medications are checked and evaluated. Some can continue while some may need to be discontinued. This decision is made by specialist doctors.
• It is very important not to take blood-thinning medications before surgery. Blood-thinning medications will increase bleeding, so if used, they must be stopped beforehand.
• Alcohol, cigarettes, and similar substances should not be used before the operation.
• To ensure bacterial cleansing throughout the body, the body should be cleaned using antibacterial soap provided by the doctor. This cleaning prevents possible infections that may occur during surgery.
• The surgery is initiated by giving the patient general anesthesia. The surgery, which is expected to take an average of 2-3 hours, may end earlier or later depending on complications that may occur inside. At this stage, it is not possible to specify a definite time.
• Upon completion of surgery, the breastbone is closed with surgical wire, and this wire is not removed from the body.
• The incision sites are closed with stitches and the operation is completed.
• After surgery, suture care should be provided at regular intervals. The healing of the breastbone requires a certain amount of time.
• After surgery, the patient must pay extreme attention to their own care. They must lie on their back and protect their chest.
• After the anesthetic effect wears off and the patient wakes up, they encounter 2-3 tubes in the chest area. These tubes are used to remove harmful fluids around the heart from the body.

After Bypass Surgery

Bypass surgery is a very difficult operation. The person must protect themselves extremely well and receive good care. We can list the situations awaiting the patient after surgery as follows:

• The patient can get up after a certain time following surgery.
• Walking activity should be in the form of short walks in fresh air.
• After surgery, it is extremely normal for the patient to experience dizziness, fatigue, loss of appetite, and feeling weak.
• The patient must rest and not strain themselves.
• Within a period of 1.5-2 months after surgery, they must lie in a supine position.
• They should avoid movements such as turning sideways to prevent the breastbone from opening.
• They should not engage in strenuous movements, even while coughing, until the breastbone heals.
• The patient should quit bad habits if they have any.
• The patient should rest plenty.
• They should eat a healthy diet.
• They should avoid stress sources.
• They should drink plenty of water.
• They should do plenty of walking and exercise.
• The recovery process is a long-term condition. The patient's transition to a healthy lifestyle can shorten this period.

Risks of Bypass Surgery

Open-heart surgery is a very difficult operation. Before this surgery, the patient and their family should prepare themselves for possible risks, and these risks should be communicated to them by the doctor.

One of the most important risk factors of this surgery is infection. After surgery, the patient should be isolated for 4-5 days and prevented from contact with others. If the slightest infection reaches the patient whose treatment and monitoring continue in the intensive care unit, their life is at risk. For this reason, transfer to a normal room takes 8-10 days.

Generally, the possible risks are as follows:

• Heart compression,
• Risk of heart attack,
• Infection risk,
• Blood loss,
• Blood clot risk,
• Chest pain,
• Breathing problems,
• Lung and kidney failure,
• Dizziness sensation,
• Memory problems

What is Coronary Bypass?

One of the most frequently performed heart surgeries in the medical field is bypass surgery performed in coronary artery disease.

One of the most important organs in the human body is the heart. The heart works continuously for us day and night without stopping. There are some blood vessels in the body that supply the heart. Over time, these vessels narrow for various reasons or become completely blocked. The disease that occurs with the blockage of these vessels is called coronary artery disease.

In this disease, a new vessel is added to the blocked or narrowed vessels to activate blood flow. Thanks to these vessels, the heart returns to its previous healthy form and continues the blood pumping process.

Coronary Bypass Surgery

With the latest technology implemented today, coronary bypass surgery performed in coronary disease is carried out in a very easy and comfortable manner. Advancing technology keeps the patient's chance of survival quite high while accelerating the recovery process.

After surgery, the patient stays in the hospital for a certain period. This period varies depending on the person and complications. Once discharged, the patient should rest for a while, undergo frequent doctor checks, and wait for doctor approval before getting up.

After surgery, the patient should receive good care. A well-cared-for patient has a faster recovery process.

Who is Coronary Bypass Surgery Applied to?

In people with coronary bypass disease, three types of treatment are applied based on doctor's recommendation. These are:

• Drug therapy,
• Coronary balloon angioplasty procedure,
• Stent procedure,
• Coronary bypass operation,

Which of the above treatments will be applied is decided as a result of a meeting held with the specialist doctor staff within the hospital.

The surgery to be performed on the patient is generally decided and performed when the following conditions are observed:

• Narrowing in the main coronary artery on the left,
• Severe narrowing in multiple coronary arteries,
• Deterioration of the heart's contraction functions and strength due to this disease,
• Chest pain that does not resolve despite used medications,

During this surgery, although there are artificial blood vessels that doctors can use, blood vessels taken from the patient's own body are used.