Traditional Bypass Surgery

Coronary artery bypass surgery is a procedure where the blood supply to the heart is diverted around areas of blockage. It provides the much needed blood supply preventing further or potential damage to the heart muscle, and relieving symptoms of angina. It also allows the pumping ability of the heart to improve.

A small section of non-essential artery or vein is used in order to divert the blood supply around a blocked coronary artery.  Traditional bypass surgery is done with a heart lung machine. The heat lung machine is also called a heart bypass machine. It allows the surgeon to stop the beating heart so that the surgery can performed.

New innovations in coronary bypass surgery now allow doctors to treat patients with less invasive techniques such as beating heart, or off-pump, bypass surgery.