Open Heart Surgery

Open-heart surgery had been one of the largest life saving surgeries performed. The first successful open heart surgery was performed in 1952 by Dr. F John Lewis. He used ice to cool down the heart and slow circulation. The basis of heart surgery involves exposing the heart (open). The sternum must be sawed through to expose the heart. The heart cannot be left pumping during surgery. At first ice was used but now a heart lung machine is used. It involves hooking a tube up to the aorta. Blood goes through this tube to a machine, which serves the heart lung process like in the normal body. The heart is cut into with a scalpel and then the specific surgery is performed. At the end, incisions are stitched up, the heart goes back to normal blood flow and the sternum is put back together (by bonding agent or staples) Heart surgery in general has the purpose of fixing heart problems, which ultimately saves a person and lengthens their life. There are several types of surgeries that fix certain types of disorders. Here are some of the common open-heart surgeries: 1. Coronary bypass surgery- the disorder for this surgery is blocked coronary arteries. Coronary arteries return blood to the heart. In this case, they are obstructed by something. It is normally plaque of fatty deposits or blood clots. The result in this is lowered blood flow to the heart which causes pain and circulation disorders. The surgery involves taking a vein from some other part of your body (like your leg) and attaching it to the aorta to reroute blood flow past the blocked area. Coronary bypass surgeries can be classified as double, triple and even quadruple. The numbers classify how many coronary arteries had to be bypassed by this process during surgery.

A newer method to solve this disorder is called coronary angioplasty. It involves routing a small tube from a point in the body and get it to the blocked area. When its there, a small balloon is inflated which expands that artery a little. This is