Heart bypass surgery - minimally invasive

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	Coronary artery stent	Heart, front view
Posterior heart arteries

Heart bypass surgery creates a new route, called a bypass, for blood and oxygen to reach your heart.

Minimally invasive coronary (heart) artery bypass can be done without stopping the heart and putting a patient on a heart-lung machine.

See also:

• Coronary bypass
• Angioplasty and stent placement

Minimally invasive direct coronary artery bypass; MIDCAB; Robot assisted coronary artery bypass; RACAB; Keyhole heart surgery

A heart surgeon will make a 3- to 5-inch-long incision (cut) in the left part of your chest between your ribs. This allows the surgeon to reach your heart. Muscles in the area will be pushed apart. A small part of the front of the rib, called the costal cartilage, will be removed. Then the surgeon will find and prepare an artery in your chest to attach to your coronary artery that is blocked.

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Once the above steps are done, the surgeon will connect the prepared chest artery to the coronary artery that is blocked.

You will not need to be on a heart-lung machine for this surgery, but a device will be attached to your heart to slow it down.

Your doctor may recommend a minimally invasive coronary artery bypass if you have a blockage in one or two coronary arteries, usually in the front of the heart. When one or more of the coronary arteries becomes partly or totally blocked, your heart does not get enough blood. This is called ischemic heart disease or coronary artery disease. It can cause chest pain (angina).

Coronary artery disease (CAD) is when the small blood vessels that supply blood and oxygen to the heart become narrow or blocked.

Your doctor may have first tried to treat you with medicines. You may have also tried cardiac rehabilitation or other treatments, such as angioplasty with stenting.

Coronary artery disease varies a lot from person to person, so the way it is diagnosed and treated varies. Heart bypass surgery is just one treatment. It is not right for everyone.

Always tell your doctor or nurse what drugs you are taking, even drugs or herbs you bought without a prescription.