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Our cardiovascular surgeons perform coronary artery bypass grafting, creating new blood flow paths around heart blockages.
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Conditions like coronary artery disease or atherosclerosis (clogged or narrowed blood vessels) can create blockages in the arteries of your heart. Coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) is a cardiac surgery often used to reroute blood flow around these clogs.
For CABG, surgeons take a healthy blood vessel from your chest or leg (called a graft) and connect it above and below your blockage. Doing this creates a new path that improves blood flow to your heart.
CABG may be a planned procedure to reduce symptoms like chest pain, heart palpitations and shortness of breath. Or it can be an emergency procedure used to treat a heart attack when other treatments don’t work. Our cardiovascular surgeons have the expertise to perform this complex surgery and get you back to a more active life.
A heart attack led to a lifesaving triple bypass for Roger Bignell.
Before your procedure, you may need to make dietary and medication changes. For example, we may ask you to stop taking blood-thinning medications before surgery. If you smoke, quit as soon as possible to improve your chances of a healthy recovery.
For planned CABG procedures, please do not eat or drink anything for at least eight hours before surgery. We will admit you to the hospital on the morning of your operation and will perform any necessary blood and heart tests.
Shortly before surgery, we will place an IV in your arm or hand to give you medication to help you relax. Once you’re in the operating room, you will receive general anesthesia to help you sleep during the procedure. We will also connect you to two machines — a breathing machine that breathes for you and a heart-lung machine that keeps your blood flowing.
Your surgeon will make a long incision (cut) down the center of your chest. They will open your rib cage and turn on the heart-lung machine so they can temporarily stop your heart. Next, they will remove the graft and reattach the ends above and below the blockage. They will repeat this procedure based on the number of blockages you have.
When the graft is in place, your surgeon will restart your heart and turn off the heart-lung machine. They will use wire to close your chest. CABG surgery typically lasts between three and six hours.
Depending on your unique needs, our surgeons can also use these techniques to complete CABG procedures:
After the surgery, you will wake up in the intensive care unit (ICU). You can expect to stay in the ICU for several days. Your length of stay in the hospital depends on how well you recover and if you experience any complications.
The breathing tube used during surgery will stay in your throat until you can breathe well on your own. Various machines will monitor your breathing and heart rhythm. In addition to giving you medications to control pain and prevent blood clots, we will talk with you about any new medications you may need.
We encourage you to start cardiac rehabilitation while you’re in the hospital. This program includes counseling, education and exercises to strengthen your heart. After you go home, you will continue outpatient cardiac rehabilitation.
CABG recovery time is usually six to 12 weeks. As you recover, contact us if you experience:
Healthy lifestyle changes can improve your long-term outcome. Follow these steps to protect your heart:
Board-certified heart surgeons use advanced techniques to support recovery and the best possible outcome.
A personalized care plan reflects your needs, backed by coordinated specialty care.
Advanced technology supports fast, accurate answers for diagnosis and treatment decisions.
Complex heart surgery expertise supports patients with challenging or rare needs.
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