Cardiac Procedures
Invasive Cardiac Investigations and Procedures
Coronary Artery Bypass Grafting (CABG)
Coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) is a surgical technique whereby
veins are taken from the legs and an artery is taken from the chest wall.
They are used to bridge or bypass narrowed areas in coronary arteries
to restore blood flow to the heart. Newer procedures include total arterial
revascularization: where arteries from the right and left chest wall and
from the forearm are used to create all the bypass grafts, and the MID-CAB
procedure where bypass of single vessel LAD disease is carried out on
the beating heart through a small incision in the anterior chest wall.
These newer procedures have specific indications, which can be discussed
with your cardiac surgeon.
CABG is very good therapy for angina particularly when medications or
angioplasty cannot control angina. The surgery may also be indicated where
cardiac testing shows a high risk for extensive heart damage to occur
if the patient were to suffer a heart attack.
The operation usually takes about 4 hours and the patient is usually in
hospital about 7- 10 days. The patient usually resumes normal activities
by around 2 months after the surgery and may return to work in 3-4 months.
The risk of bypass surgery includes an approximate 1% risk of death and
5% risk of heart attack, stroke or wound infection.
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