Overview

Heart surgery is performed to correct problems related to your heart. Heart surgery can be performed for both children and adults. As Per report from NHLBI (National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute), Coronary Artery Bypass Grafting (CABG) is the most common type of heart surgery done on adults. A healthy artery /vein is grafted (attached) to a blocked coronary artery /vein during this surgery. This allows the grafted artery to “bypass” the blocked artery and hence provide fresh blood to the heart.

 

 

Traditional heart surgery is often called Open-Heart Surgery which is done by opening the chest wall ,to operate on the heart. Surgery is done by cutting through the patient's breastbone (or just the upper part of it) to open the chest. Today, many new heart procedures can be performed with only small incisions with the help of the latest technologies, which avoids wide openings. Therefore, the term “open-heart surgery” can be misleading for many.

When is open-heart surgery needed?

Open-heart surgery may be done to perform a CABG of the patient. A Coronary Artery Bypass Graft(CABG)  may be necessary for people with coronary heart disease. Occurrence of Coronary Heart Disease : when the blood vessels that provide blood and oxygen to the heart muscle become narrow and hard. This is often referred to as “hardening of the arteries” in medical terms. Hardening of arteries occurs when fatty material forms a plaque on the walls of the coronary arteries. This plaque narrows the arteries of the patient , making it difficult for blood to get through. When blood can’t flow properly to the heart it may cause a heart attack. Open-heart surgery is also done:

• To repair or replace heart valves, which will allow blood to pass through the heart

• To repair abnormal  or damaged areas of the heart

• To implant medical devices that helps the heart to pump properly

• To replace a damaged heart with a donated heart (heart transplantation)

Types of Heart Surgery

• Coronary artery bypass grafting

  • The most well-known sort of heart medical procedure is Coronary supply route sidesteps uniting (CABG). In the United States itself, more than 500,000 of these medical procedures are done every year. CABG enhances bloodstream to the heart. It's utilized for individuals having extreme coronary conduit infection (CAD).

  • Amid CABG, a specialist takes a vein or a supply route from your chest, your leg or another piece of your body and associates, or units, it to the blocked course. The joined vein side steps (that is, goes around) the blockage. This permits oxygen-rich blood to achieve the heart muscle. Specialists can sidestep upwards of four blocked coronary veins amid one medical procedure.

• Transmyocardial laser revascularization

  • Transmyocardial laser revascularization, or TLR, is a medical procedure used to treat angina when no different medicines work. For instance, in the event that you've just had one CABG technique and can't have another, TLR might be a choice.

  • This sort of heart medical procedure isn't normal.

• Valve repair or replacement

  • For the heart to work correctly,  blood must flow in only one direction. The heart's valves make this possible.

  • Healthy valves open and close in a precise manner as the heart pumps blood.

• Arrhythmia treatment

  • An Arrhythmia is a problem with the rate or rhythm of your heartbeat.

  • During an Arrhythmia( problem with the rate or rhythm of your heartbeat), the heart can beat too fast, too slow or with an irregular rhythm.

• Aneurysm repair

  • An Aneurysm is an abnormal bulge or "ballooning" in the wall of an artery or the heart muscle of a patient.

  • This bulge happens when the wall weakens. Pressure from blood moving through the artery or heart causes the weak area to bulge out and create a balloon-like shape.

  • Over time an Aneurysm can grow or can burst,  which may cause fatal bleeding inside the body.

• Ventricular assist devices

  • Ventricular Assist Devices are mechanical pumps that support your heart or take over your heart's pumping action as needed.

  • Ventricular Assist Devices are used when your heart can't pump enough blood to support your body.

• Heart transplant

  • A heart transplant is a surgery in which a diseased heart is replaced with a healthy heart from a deceased donor.

  • Heart transplants are done on patients whose hearts are so damaged or weak that they can't pump enough to work properly

Surgical Approaches

Surgeons can use different procedures to operate on the heart, including open-heart surgery, off-pump heart surgery, and minimally invasive heart surgery. The surgical approach will be depending  on the patient's heart problem, general health, and other factors.

Open-Heart Surgery

Open-heart surgery is any kind of surgery in which a surgeon makes a large incision (cut) in the chest to open the rib cage and operate on the heart. "Open" refers to the chest, not the heart. Depending on the type of surgery, the surgeon also may open the patient's heart .
Once the heart is exposed  via an open chest , the patient is connected to a heart-lung bypass machine. The machine takes over the heart's pumping action and moves blood away from the heart making the patient survive until surgery. This allows the surgeon to operate freely  on a heart that isn't beating and that doesn't have blood flowing through it. Open-heart surgery is used to do CABG(Coronary artery bypass grafting), repair or replace heart valves, treat atrial fibrillation, do heart transplants, and place VADs and TAHs.  

 

Off-Pump Heart Surgery

Surgeons also use off-pump, or beating heart, surgery to do CABG (Coronary artery bypass grafting). 

This approach is similar to traditional open-heart surgery because the chest bone is opened to access the heart. However, the heart isn't stopped from pumping blood and hence, a heart-lung bypass machine isn't used. Off-pump heart surgery isn't right for all patients. Discuss with your doctor whether this type of surgery is an option for you. Your doctor will carefully consider your heart problem, age, overall health, and other factors that may affect the surgery or for necessary actions.    

Minimally Invasive Heart Surgery

For minimally invasive heart surgery, a surgeon makes small incisions (cuts) in the side of the chest between the ribs. This type of surgery may or may not require a heart-lung bypass machine. Minimally invasive heart surgery is used to do some bypass and maze surgeries. It's also used to repair or replace heart valves, insert pacemakers or ICDs, or take a vein or artery from the body to use as a bypass graft for CABG. One type of minimally invasive heart surgery that is becoming more common is robotic-assisted surgery. During this surgery, a surgeon uses a computer to control surgical tools on thin robotic arms. The tools are inserted through small incisions in the chest. This allows the surgeon to do complex and highly precise surgery. The surgeon always stay in total control of the robotic arms; they don't move on their own.

Risks of Heart Surgery

Heart surgery has risks, even though its results are excellent. 

Risks include

• Disease, fever, swelling, and different indications of aggravation.

• A response to the prescription used to make you rest amid the medical procedure.

• Arrhythmias (unpredictable pulses).

• Harm to tissues in the heart, kidneys, liver, and lungs.

• Stroke, which may cause a present moment or lasting harm.

• Passing. (Heart medical procedure is bound to be perilous in individuals who are exceptionally wiped out before the medical procedure.)

Memory misfortune and different issues, for example, issues focusing or thinking unmistakably, may happen in a few people. These issues are bound to influence more seasoned patients and ladies.

Why Choose India?

There are various  reasons why you should choose India to undergo a heart surgery. First, the cost of cardiac treatment in India is one of the lowest in the world. It is estimated that by traveling to India for heart surgery, a medical tourist from a Western country may save more than half of the money that they would typically spend in any other country. Second, the quality of medical treatment offered at the top hospitals for cardiology in India is the best in the world. If not better, the quality of services, including technology and equipment is on par with the other countries. JustHealthX helps you get in touch with some of the most popular and well-known cardiac hospitals in the country. JustHealthX helps patients from abroad seek good quality treatment at an affordable cost. Also, we help them choose a reputed hospital based in a city of their choice. To make your stay comfortable and hassle-free, JustHealthX helps with the following non-medical aspects as well:

• Getting proper accommodation and economical transportation

• An informed decision regarding the selection of hospitals, doctors and treatment

• Visa assistance

• Free pick up  and drop facility from the airport

• Foreign currency exchange facility

• Medical Interpreters or Language translators for better communication with the doctors and other hospital staff

• Check, compare, and assess different options of available hospitals and doctors to make a decision.

• Accommodation for the attendant who accompanies the patient throughout the treatment especially during hospital stay.

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