Heart surgery and other cardiac procedures

What are the different types of heart surgery?

Depending on the type of heart problem, health of the patient and other factors, following types of heart surgeries can be performed:

Open-Heart Surgery:

Surgeon makes a large cut in the chest to open the rib cage. Hence, the chest of the patient is opened, but not necessarily the heart. The patient is connected to an artificial heart called the heart-lung bypass machine, while the cardiothoracic surgeons correct the problem.

Some common procedures using this approach are:

• Coronary Artery Bypass Graft Surgery (CABG)
• Heart valve repair or replacement surgery
• Aneurysm repair
• Insertion of ventricular assist devices
• Heart transplant

Closed heart or minimally invasive heart surgery:

Small incisions or cuts are made between the ribs through the chest for the surgery. The heart-lung bypass machine may or may not be used on discretion of surgeon. This type of heart surgery is used for procedures like:

• Stent placement
• Cardiac catheterisation
• Repair or replacement of heart valves
• Insertion of ventricular assisted devices
• Transmyocardial Laser Revascularisation (TMR)
• Robotic surgeries

What is the survival rate, risks and benefits of heart surgery?

With the advances in medical technology, heart surgery is known to have excellent outcomes, with almost 90% patients surviving the surgery.

Heart surgery survival rate:

Early detection of disease, surgical expertise, use of advanced technology and excellent aftercare increase the chances of survival post-surgery. Patients with heart surgery are known to have survived for as long as 15 to 30 years.

However, heart surgery, being a major surgery, carries some risks, such as:

• Arrhythmias or irregular heartbeats
• Bleeding or infection in the surgical site
• Memory loss, difficulty in concentrating and other cognitive loss
• Stroke
• Tissue damage in heart, kidneys, liver, and lungs

The risk of complications may be higher for emergency surgeries or in the presence of underlying diseases like diabetes.

What factors should be considered while choosing a hospital for heart surgery?

Heart surgery is one of the most critical surgeries. Hence, the hospital should be chosen wisely. Consider factors such as the experience of the cardiothoracic surgeon and cardiac anaesthetist, an advanced set up with infrastructure and trained team with nurses, and physiotherapists to support the pre-operative and post-operative needs of a heart surgery.

References