- What is the bypass surgery for?
- How is the surgery done
- Does surgery impair the circulation of the legs?
- How is recovery
- Risks of the bypass
The bypass, also known as cardiac bypass or myocardial revascularization, is a type of cardiac surgery in which a piece of the saphenous vein in the leg is placed in the heart, to transport blood from the aorta to the heart muscle.
This type of surgery is done when there is an obstruction 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 infarction.
What is the bypass surgery for?
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 also needs to supply its own muscle with blood rich in oxygen, which arrives through the aorta artery through the heart muscle vessels, also known as coronary arteries.
When these coronary arteries are blocked, due to the presence of fat on the vessel walls, for example, blood passes in a smaller amount to the muscle and, therefore, there is a decrease in the amount of oxygen that reaches these muscle cells. When this happens, the heart loses part of its ability to pump blood through the body, causing symptoms such as feeling short of breath, easy tiredness and even fainting.
In addition, if the blood stops passing completely, the heart muscle goes into cell death and a heart attack arises, which can be life-threatening.
Thus, to avoid this serious type of complications, the cardiologist can advise to perform a bypass surgery, which consists of taking a piece of the saphenous vein from the leg and making a "bridge" between the aorta and the site immediately afterwards. obstruction of the coronary artery. In this way, the blood is able to continue to circulate through the heart muscle and the heart maintains its normal functioning.
How is the surgery done
Bypass surgery is delicate and lasts an average of 5 hours. The steps of bypass surgery are:
- General anesthesia requiring a tube in the trachea to facilitate breathing; Removal of part of the saphenous vein in the leg; A cut is made in the chest to access the arteries of the heart; The doctor examines the blocked arteries, defining the locations for make the bridges, the saphenous vein is sewn in the necessary place, the chest is closed, with special sutures to bring the sternum closer;
At the end of the surgery, the tube in the trachea is maintained during the first hours of recovery.
Does surgery impair the circulation of the legs?
Although a part of the saphenous vein is removed from the leg, there is usually no complication for the circulation of the legs, as the blood may continue to circulate through other veins. In addition, after removing a part of the vein, a completely natural process, known as revascularization, takes place, in which new vessels are formed to supply the body's needs and replace the removed part of the saphenous vein.
Although the bypass is almost always the first option for revascularization of the heart, 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, the surgery can be known as a "breast bridge".
How is recovery
After surgery, the patient needs to stay in an ICU for 2 to 3 days, to make constant assessments of vital signs and to avoid possible complications of the surgery. After being considered stable, you can go to a hospital room, where you will continue taking painkillers to avoid chest pain and possible discomfort. In this phase you should start physiotherapy through light exercises, walking and breathing exercises.
The recovery from this surgery is a little slow and only after about 90 days will the person be able to return to their daily routine.
In the postoperative period, usually after 2 days of surgery, the scar no longer needs dressings, it is only important to keep it clean and free of secretions. Up to 4 weeks after surgery, you should not drive or carry a weight over 10 kg.
It is important to take the medications recommended by the cardiologist and attend the postoperative appointment, scheduled at 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 a good functioning of the heart and avoid new obstructions in the circulation of the coronary arteries. See what are the steps to keep your heart healthy.
Risks of the bypass
As it is a long and complex surgery, because it is necessary to open the chest and interfere with the functioning of the heart, bypass surgery has some risks, such as:
- Infection; Hemorrhage; Infarction.
However, these complications are more frequent in people who already have compromised health, with kidney failure, other heart diseases, or when surgery is performed urgently.
However, the risks are minimized when the patient respects all medical guidelines that may include control of feeding and the use or suspension of certain medications before surgery and, in addition, the benefits of surgery usually outweigh the risk of having a heart attack. and further damage health.
