Heart Bypass Surgery becomes requisite when one or more coronary arteries become partly or totally blocked. At such situations, your heart does not get enough amount of blood. Coronary Artery Bypass Graft (CABG) or simply bypass surgery is conducted to create new routes, called as bypass, for oxygen and blood to go around a blockage to reach your heart.
Heart Bypass surgery starts with injecting local anesthesia in your body so that you remain unconscious and pain-free during the surgery. Cardiologists then make an 8-10 inch surgical cut in the mid area of your chest. Your breast bone is then separated to create an opening. This opening helps your surgeon to see your heart and its surrounding blood vessels.
Some heart bypass surgeries include a heart-lung bypass machine or a bypass pump wherein this machine does the work of your heart and lungs while your heart is stopped for the surgery. Further, this machine adds oxygen to your blood, moves blood through your body, and removes carbon dioxide. Other type of bypass surgeries are conducted with the beating heart. It's called the off-pump coronary artery bypass (OPCAB).
Once the bypass surgery is completed, your breastbone and surgical cuts will be sewed up. This surgery can take 4 to 6 hours. You will be admitted to the ICU after the surgery. Within 24 to 48 hours, you will be shifted to the transitional care room.
There will be 2-3 tubes in your chest to drain fluids from/around your heart. These will be removed after 1 or 3 days after the operation. Your body will be attached to machines that will continuously monitor your pulse, temperature, and breathing. You will have a catheter in your bladder to drain urine out of your system. Also, you will have intravenous lines for fluids. Based on your health status, you will be discharged from the hospital after 3 to 7 days. Your health providers will counsel you on post-surgery care. It will take 4 to 6 weeks to feel better after surgery.