Artemis - Cardiac Surgery

CARDIAC SURGERY :

Cardiac surgery

is surgery on the heart and/or great vessels performed by a cardiac surgeon. Frequently, it is done to treat complications of Ischaemic heart disease (for example,

coronary artery bypass grafting

), correct congenital heart disease, or treat valvular heart disease created by various causes including endocarditis.

Cardiac Surgery

is performed in the following cases:

Coronary Artery Disease

- Coronary arteries can become diseased when cholesterol, a fat-like substance carried in the blood, builds up to form plaque (fatty substances and calcium) in the lining of the artery.

Valvular Heart Disease - Heart valves can be abnormally formed as birth defects or damaged by rheumatic fever, bacterial infection and calcified degeneration. Valves also can degenerate with the normal aging process.

Congenital Heart Disease - Some people are born with problems that may affect the heart and major blood vessels. Corrective surgery may occur in childhood or postponed until adulthood.

Thoracic Aortic Aneurysms - An aneurysm is a saclike bulging that can develop on the wall of a blood vessel. This bulging commonly occurs on the aorta due to weakening of the arterial wall. Many times there is a history of high blood pressure.

Tumors of the Heart - A myxoma is the most common cardiac tumor, with 75 percent occurring in the left atrium.

In order to diagnose and determine the treatment for a particular heart disease, the doctor obtains a complete medical history, performs a thorough physical exam and orders special diagnostic tests.

Major types of cardiac surgery includes

Coronary Artery Bypass Graft

Surgery (

CABG

),

Heart Valve Surgery

, Minimally Invasive Surgical Procedures, Transmyocardial Laser Revascularization (TMR), Congenital repairs and Thoracic Aortic Aneurysm Repair.

WHAT WILL HAPPEN DURING THE PROCEDURE ?

You would be given a mild sedative and some pain killers to ensure that you remain relaxed during the procedure. Your doctor will insert a catheter into an artery in your groin and gently maneuver it to the heart. This catheter has a balloon as its tip. Once the catheter reaches the site of the blockage, the balloon on the end is inflated. This opens the blocked vessel and restores proper blood flow to the heart. Often, a device called a stent is also placed at the site of narrowing or blockage in order to keep the artery open. In a small number of cases, a special catheter with a small, diamond tip is used to drill through hard narrowing with calcium that is causing the blockage. This is called rotational artherectomy.