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Open Heart Surgery |
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Open Heart Surgery
The name open heart surgery may give a false impression that we literally open the heart, but open heart surgery means that the surgery is done by opening the thoracic cavity and operating on the heart. The heart is not always opened, depending on the type of surgery. When performing open heart surgery, we may operate on the muscles, vessels, valves, or other structures of the heart.
In order to repair the heart during open heart surgery, the heart needs to stop working. This may be done by circulating the blood through a heart-lung machine which keeps the blood oxygenated during surgery. This allows for better precision when operating on smaller vessels. Open heart surgery can also be performed without a heart-machine, depending on individual factors such as the severity of the disease or its location.
Open heart Complications
Open heart Complications can occur at different stages of recovery. During open heart surgery, there are risks of anesthesia complications and excessive bleeding during surgery.
The first twenty four hours following surgery are very critical. There are several complications to look out for during this period. Infections, internal bleeding, which can be dangerous, stroke, abnormal heart rhythm, heart attack, which occurs in less than 5% of patients, and even sudden death.
Pericardial Tamponade is a life threatening complication of open heart surgery. The condition is caused by blood filling the pericardium, which is the sac that surrounds the heart, making it harder for the heart to work properly.
Following open heart surgery, the patient is sent straight to the Intensive Care Unit (ICU). This allows for close monitoring of the patient’s progress and cardiac functioning.
Even though open heart complications can endanger a patient’s life, death as a result of open heart surgery is as low as 1%.
Open Heart Recovery Time
Open heart recovery time is different for each individual. The average hospital stay is about five to seven days. Returning to work can take a month or two, but again, each person recovers at his/her own pace.
The patient is usually removed from the ICU after two to four days. During the following couple of days the patient is followed closely for other possible complications, especially infections.
Look out for symptoms like fever, worsening chest pain, changes in heart rate or discharge from the site of incision. These symptoms may indicate that there is an infection on the chest wound.
During open heart recovery time, it is important to exercise the heart by doing cardiac rehabilitation, which is a program supervised by a team of specialists in the field. This program includes nutritional guidance, supervised exercise and emotional support. Cardiac rehabilitation improves you heart’s functionality. A diet low in cholesterol will help lower the risk of a second surgery.
In general, about 85% of patients who underwent an open heart surgery will have reduced their symptoms significantly after surgery.
Heart Bypass Surgery
CNN explained it best, “For a motorist, a [heart] bypass [surgery] is a road that avoids a congested area”. Through a heart bypass surgery, the heart regains flow of richly oxygenated blood.
Heart bypass surgery is performed under general anesthesia and takes from around three to six hours. It can be performed in a number of manners: open heart surgery with a heart-lung machine (“on pump”), open heart surgery without a heart-lung machine (“off pump” or “beating heart”), and the latest technique, heart bypass surgery without opening the thoracic cavity (MIDCAB). The latest technique is done by making small cuts through the chest, and through them the insertion of a small camera and surgical appliances.
The decision on what technique to use depends on the degree of heart damage, on the general health of the patient, and other factors. Patients with renal failure for example, are good candidates for OPCAB technique.
The number of bypasses to be implanted depends on the number of occlusions, their severity and their location. The final number of performed bypasses can only be determined during the actual heart bypass surgery.
Israeli cardiothoracic specialists performing heart bypass surgery, can perform the surgery with any of the techniques mentioned above, and use arterial implants whenever possible in order to keep the implant open for a longer period of time.
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Articles on Open Heart Surgery
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Off Pump Coronary Artery Bypass surgery (OPCAB) |
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Recommended Tags
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Open Heart Surgery
Open heart Complications
Open Heart Recovery Time
Heart Bypass Surgery
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