Before getting to the actual question that “do they take your heart out during an open heart surgery?” it is really important to figure out what a heart surgery actually is. With the latest technologies and medical machinery, it has become quite simple to operate even the sensitive most parts of the human body, including the brain and heart. One of the many popular surgeries of the heart includes the open heart surgery. Let’s find out what it actually is.
What is An Open Heart Surgery?
Open heart surgery is basically a surgery mainly done to repair the clots and other damages in the human heart. As clear from the name “open heart surgery”, it can be concluded that the doctors open up the chest to get access to the heart. There are mainly two procedures which are done by the open heart surgery, namely:
- Coronary artery bypass surgery
- Faulty valve
Coronary Artery Bypass Surgery:
This is the process which is mainly used to unclog the clots in the coronary arteries or replace the artery in the heart, which has narrowed down. Narrowed coronary arteries are the main cause of the heart attacks, angina and cardiac arrests, which is why doctors highly recommend an open heart surgery in such cases. The surgery takes a minimum of 6 hours and maximum 12 hours in serious cases. The artery is grafted in place of the coronary artery which is blocked. This artery can be taken from the chest or even the leg.
Faulty Valve:
This is the second procedure done by the open heart surgery. The function of the valve is to prevent the back flow of blood. The disease called aneurysm can also be treated by the open heart surgery. In case there is some issue with the valves, the open heart surgery can be used by placing the faulty valves instead. This surgery has been really successful in the past few years.
Why is Open Heart Surgery Needed?
The risk of heart diseases has increased recently, mainly due to our diet and unhealthy lifestyle. Not only the adults, but the children too are facing several heart problems just because of the type of lifestyle we follow.
There are dozens of heart diseases and disorders, for which an open heart surgery is required. A few of the diseases of heart diseases, which can be treated by the open heart surgery are atrial septal defects, ventricular septal defects, AV canals, transposition of the great arteries, aneurysm, clots, a fault in valves and much more.
The open heart surgery has been really advantageous for certain factors and reasons. There is a really low chance that this surgery will fail. Moreover, this surgery takes approximately 6 to 8 hours minimum in order for its completion. This procedure requires a use of cardiopulmonary bypass, stopping the heart and finally opening it and performing the surgery.
Do They Take Your Heart Out During Open Heart Surgery?
It’s quite clear what an open heart surgery is. But there is a little question which always pops up while we hear this name. Well, the heart is actually replaced by a heart-lung bypass machine while the heart is temporarily stopped by the drugs in order to repair it. An 8 to 10 inches cut is made in the chest, after the heart is visible it is stopped using the drugs and replaced by the machine. The machine functions for a while as the heart and the clots and others defects in the heart are treated by the surgeon.
The patient is kept in the intensive care unit (ICU) after the operation and it takes a few weeks to actually recover from the surgery.
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