DIFFERENT HEART PROCEDURES AND BENEFITS

Deposition of fat material or coagulation of blood in the arteries carrying blood to the heart leads to obstruction of blood supply, and this can cause a heart attack. Usually the blocks can be cured using medicines, but in a few cases, they can be removed only through a Bypass Surgery.

Apart from this procedure, there are other procedures performed on the heart, includingOpen Heart Surgery, Beating Heart Surgery, Robotic Surgery, Minimally Invasive Cardiac Surgery andEndoscopy Surgery.

Dr. C. Raghu, Cardiologist, Aster Prime Hospitals, Hyderabad, tells us about the different procedures performed on the heart.

BALLOON ANGIOPLASTY

When the block in the cardiac artery is removed by a balloon and a stent is inserted, it is called Balloon Angioplasty or a Stent Operation. This cannot be considered as a full-fledged surgery.

BYPASS SURGERY

In case of blocks in the cardiac arteries, blood vesselsdrawn from the legs or the internal mammary artery (IMA) are used as substitutes to supply blood to the heart through a new route,and this is known asBypass Surgery or Coronary Artery Bypass Grafting (CABG).

WHO CAN UNDERGO BYPASS SURGERY?

This is done when there are blocks in the main artery supplying blood to the heart, or when there is a block in the important artery at the left side of the heart, or when the rate of pumping by the heart reduces, or when there are many blocks in the arteries. It is also performed on those suffering from Diabetes.

OPEN HEART SURGERY

During Bypass, the surgeon reaches the heart by splitting the breast bone. However, doctors would find it hard to operate when the heart is beating. To keep it in a state of rest for some time,while still maintaining supply of blood to different parts of the body, a heart-lung machine is used. This procedure is called Open Heart Surgery.

CLOSED HEART SURGERY

Surgery in which the heart-lung machine is not used during operation is called Closed Heart Surgery. Usually, this type of surgery is done when the mitral valve is operated on.

BEATING HEART SURGERY

It is also called Off Pump Surgery. Even for this type of procedure, the breast bone is split, and the surgery is performed while when the heart is beating normally. However, a tool called octopus is used to keep the area where the surgery is being performed static.

MINIMALLY INVASIVE CARDIAC SURGERY

In the last few years, modern techniques were used to perform heart surgeries. Bypass surgeries performed with just a small incision is one among the techniques. In this procedure, there is no need of splitting the breast bone. However, anaesthesia needs to be administered.

ENDOSCOPIC SURGERY

In this procedure, the blood vessels from the leg or the internal mammary artery are not taken through a deep incision, but merely by piercing a small hole, to enable faster recovery of the patient.

HYBRID SURGERY

In some cases, the patients become critical while performing aBypass Surgery, and then some blood vessels are fixed through Angioplasty and a few in the Bypass mode, to reduce life threat to the patient. This will help the patient to recover fast. Mixing various procedures during operationis called Hybrid Bypass Surgery.

ROBOTIC BYPASS SURGERY

As the name suggests, doctors take the help of robots to perform this surgery. The entire procedure is done through a very small hole.Doctors cannot move their fingers easily in the small hole and so use the thin fingers of the robots with complete control over them.

Book Appointment: Dr. C. Raghu, Cardiologist, Aster Prime Hospitals, Hyderabad