Bypass surgery, also known as cardiac bypass or myocardial revascularization, is a type of heart surgery in which a piece of safe vein from the leg is placed in the heart to carry blood from the aorta to the heart muscle.
This type of surgery is performed when there is a blockage by fat plaques in the heart vessels, which are the coronary arteries, which does not improve with other types of treatment and therefore increases the risk of serious complications such as heart attack.
- The heart is the vital organ that pumps blood throughout the body.
- Allowing it to oxygenate blood in the lungs and supply all cells in other parts of the body.
- However.
- To function properly.
- The heart must also provide its own own muscle with rich blood oxygen.
- Which reaches through the artery of the aorta through the vessels of the heart muscle.
- Also called coronary arteries.
When these coronary arteries are blocked, due to the presence of fat in the walls of the vessels, for example, the blood passes in less amount to the muscle and, as a result, there is a decrease in the amount of oxygen that reaches them.Muscle cells When this happens, the heart loses some of its ability to pump blood through the body, causing symptoms such as shortness of breath, easy fatigue and even fainting.
In addition, if the blood stops flowing completely, the heart muscle enters cell death and a life-threatening heart attack occurs.
Thus, to avoid such serious complications, the cardiologist may advise performing a bypass, which involves removing a piece of safena vein from the leg and making a “bridge” between the aorta and the site immediately after coronary obstruction.Artery. In this way, blood can continue to flow through the heart muscle and the heart maintains its normal functioning.
Bypass surgery is delicate and lasts an average of 5 hours. The steps of bypass surgery are:
At the end of surgery, the tube in the tinge is held during the first few hours of recovery.
Although part of the safena vein is removed from the leg, there are usually no complications to leg circulation, as blood can continue to flow through other veins.In addition, after removing part of the vein, an all-natural process, known as revascularization, takes place, in which new vessels are formed to meet the needs of the body and replace the extracted part of the safena vein.
Although bypass surgery is almost always the first choice for heart revascularization, there are other vessels in the body that can be used for this purpose, mainly the mammary arteries, which are vessels located in the chest, when this happens, surgery can be known as the “breast bridge”.
After surgery, the patient should remain in an intensive care unit for 2 to 3 days to perform constant evaluations of vital signs and avoid possible complications of surgery.After being considered stable, you can go to a hospital room, where you will continue to take pain relievers to avoid chest pain and possible discomfort.At this stage, physical therapy should be initiated with light exercises, walking exercises and breathing.
Recovery from this surgery is a little slow and only after about 90 days will the person be able to resume their daily routine.
In the postoperative period, usually within 2 days of surgery, the scar no longer needs bandages and it is only important to keep it clean and free of secretions. Up to 4 weeks after surgery, a higher weight should not be driven or charged.10 kg.
It is important to take the medicines recommended by the cardiologist and go to the postoperative appointment, scheduled in the hospital, in addition, after recovery, it is important to continue with a healthy lifestyle, with a balanced diet and regular physical activities, to ensure proper functioning of the heart and avoid further obstructions in the circulation of the coronary arteries.See what steps are being taken to keep your heart healthy.
As this is a long and complex surgery, as it is necessary to open the chest and interfere with the functioning of the heart, safe bridge surgery carries certain risks, such as:
However, these complications are more common in people whose health is already compromised, kidney failure, other heart disease, or when surgery is performed in an emergency.
However, risks are minimized when the patient follows all medical guidelines that may include diet control and the use or discontinuation of certain medications prior to surgery, and the benefits of surgery generally outweigh the risk of suffering a heart attack and greater damage to health.