The heart is the most vital body organ that regulates blood circulation all over the body. But sometimes, it starts creating issues in pumping and filtering the blood, leading to heart pain, strokes and heart failure. Open heart surgery is the most widely performed procedure to manage and treat various heart issues.
In this blog, Dr. Sujay Shad, a senior cardiac surgeon, will discuss an insightful study of open heart surgery. The heart specialist will also talk in detail about what one can expect before, after and during this surgical procedure. So, read the post and learn about the benefits of considering open heart surgery in Delhi.
What is open heart surgery?
As the name indicates, open heart surgery is a surgical procedure to treat various heart's health issues and improve one’s quality of life. Open surgery includes the minimally invasive treatment of heart muscle, arteries, valves, aorta and other arteries connected to the heart. Following are the medical conditions that require open heart surgery:
Medical Conditions require Open Heart Surgery
- Coronary Artery Bypass
Coronary arteries are the blood vessels. These blood vessels keep the heart healthy by supplying adequate blood, oxygen, and nutrients to heart muscles. Due to formation of sticky cholesterol caused by unhealthy lifestyle of smoking, oily food and various other things, this pathway gets blocked. This heart condition leads to severe chest pain, life-threatening heart attack and sometimes death too. As a result an open heart surgery called coronary bypass surgery is used to create an alternate pathway to feed the heart.
- Heart valve repair or replacement
The heart has four valves that regulate blood flow through the heart and to the rest of the body. The four heart valves are the mitral, tricuspid, aortic, and pulmonary valves. Heart valve issues like stenosis, regurgitation, prolapse, endocarditis etc can arise due to congenital disabilities, infections, and age-related wear and tear. Heart valve issues lead to serious complications, including heart failure, stroke, and even death. Depending on the severity of the issue, heart valve surgery is done if repair or replacement is necessary.
- Aortic Surgery
The largest artery in the body, the aorta, transports oxygen-rich blood from the heart to the body's other organs. The swelling of an artery is known as an aneurysm. Abdominal aortic aneurysms and thoracic aortic aneurysms can occur in two different types of aneurysms of the aorta.
One of the most common aortic issues is an aortic aneurysm, a bulge or weakening of the wall of the aorta. If left untreated, an aortic aneurysm can rupture, leading to life-threatening internal bleeding. As a result, open heart surgery for aortic surgery is performed to prevent aneurysm and further heart complications.
- Septal Myectomy for HOCM
Septal myectomy is a surgical procedure to treat hypertrophic obstructive cardiomyopathy (HOCM), a genetic heart condition that causes the heart muscle to thicken and obstruct blood flow. While septal myectomy is a complex surgery, Dr. Sujay Shad, a top heart surgeon in Delhi, performs it successfully and improves symptoms and quality of life for HOCM patients.
- Pulmonary Thromboendarterectomy
Blood clots form in the lungs and block the pulmonary arteries, leading to high blood pressure and strain on the right side of the heart. Such a heart condition requires Pulmonary thromboendarterectomy (PTE) - a surgical procedure for treating chronic thromboembolic pulmonary hypertension (CTEPH).
- Heart Failure Surgery
Heart failure surgery refers to a range of surgical procedures that can be used to treat advanced heart failure. These surgeries are typically reserved for patients with severe heart failure symptoms that are not responding to medical therapy. The most common types of heart failure surgery include heart transplant, left ventricular assist device (LVAD) implantation, and cardiac resynchronization therapy (CRT).
A heart transplant involves replacing a patient's diseased heart with a healthy donor heart, while LVAD implantation involves implanting a mechanical device to help the heart pump blood. CRT uses a pacemaker-like device to help coordinate the contractions of the heart's ventricles. Heart failure surgery can significantly improve eligible patients' quality of life and survival.
Expectations from an open heart surgery
When an individual is diagnosed with an unhealthy heart and receives a recommendation for open heart surgery, things the individual can expect are underneath:
- Open heart surgery will be performed on the numbed body. For this surgeon will inject general anaesthesia first.
- As the name indicates, open heart surgery is a surgical procedure; hence the surgeon will make incisions of 8- to 10-inch in the chest.
- After that, the surgeon will access the heart. The surgeon will connect the heart to a heart-lung bypass machine.
- This machine removes the blood away and performs the surgical procedure of heart valve repair, coronary bypass, aortic surgery and any other.
How to Preparation for open heart surgery
Usually, best heart surgeons in Delhi consider a candidate with normal blood pressure, diabetes and maintained weight for open heart surgery. As a result, a patient can expect mentioned below-mentioned guidelines to follow:
- One must stop taking blood thinner medicines a week or two before surgery.
- One must limit the consumption of alcohol and smoking.
- One must avoid taking the stress of surgery and stay positive
- Candidates can reduce weight.
Medical procedure before open heart surgery
When one qualifies the eligibility criteria for open heart surgery, heart surgeons do the medical checkup, during which one can expect:
- X-rays of the chest
- The candidate's chest must be hair-free.
- Sterilization of the surgical area with anti-bacterial soap or cleaner.
- An intravenous line (IV) will provide the fluids and medications.
Post Open Heart Surgery Expectation
Depending on the surgery, one can expect to spend a day or more in the hospital's intensive care unit (ICU). A heart surgeon will monitor the patient's health throughout this time daily. Anytime the patient feels well, the surgeon releases the discharge papers based on the patient's recovery report and allows the patient to return to the hospital for regular checkups.
The cardiac surgeon and colleagues will go over aftercare instructions before discharge. Patients may, however, be provided with a unique, firm pillow to protect their chest when they cough, sneeze, or get out of bed.
Benefits of Open heart surgery
Open heart surgery is frequently advised for treating heart attack, heart failure, valvular disease, and coronary artery disease. The procedure for performing a coronary artery bypass is the most frequently used. The quality of life is improved, and long-lasting results are helped by this surgery, which has a high success rate for treating serious conditions that pose a threat to life.’
Beyond this, open heart procedures have a lot of other advantages, such as:
- A decrease in chest pain
- An improvement in respiratory ability.
- Bloodstream oxygen levels that are healthier
- Lessened risk of stroke or blood vessel issues
- Sustaining the benefits of open heart surgery involves lifelong dedication to certain lifestyle changes, each described below.
To know more about open heart surgery and when it is necessary. Book an appointment with Dr. Sujay Shad, best heart surgeon in Delhi at Sir Ganga Ram Hospital!
Consult now for more information!
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