open heart surgery
coronary artery bypass surgery
This procedure is also known as coronary artery bypass graft (CABG… pronounced “cabbage”), or more commonly as bypass surgery.
It is performed on patients with blocked arteries around their hearts. When blood and oxygen don’t flow properly to the heart, it can cause angina (pain in the chest, jaw or arm), damage to the heart muscle or even death.
During CABG, a surgeon takes an artery or vein from another part of the body and uses it to replace (or “graft”) a heart artery that is blocked or damaged by coronary artery disease. This helps create a new route for blood and oxygen to flow again, hence the term, “bypass.”
The terms single (1), double (2), triple (3), quadruple (4) and quintuple (5) bypass refers to the number of arteries being bypassed in the procedure.
a first-rate team of surgeons
Our surgical team ranks among the very best in the country—they bring decades of experience and expertise to every procedure, including CABG. In our state-of-the-art operating suites, they utilitize the latest surgical techniques and technology. We’re honored to say that they have helped propel our institute into a nationally respected and ranked organization.
an important distinction…
When performing CABG, surgeons often have a choice which artery or vein to take for the bypass. Here, our surgeons primarily use the mammary artery, found inside the chest, as opposed to the more common saphenous vein in the leg. Many studies have shown that this has important advantages for patients—including a single incision site (chest only), and, oftentimes, better results.