Cardiovascular Surgery
Cardiovascular surgery is the surgical subspecialty concerned with operations on the heart, aorta, and the major blood vessels supplying the body. It represents some of the most technically demanding and life-saving work in all of medicine. Advances in surgical technique, anaesthesia, and post-operative care over the past several decades have dramatically improved outcomes for patients with serious heart and vascular disease.
What it covers
The scope of cardiovascular surgery is broad. Coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) — commonly known as bypass surgery — is performed to restore blood flow to the heart muscle when coronary arteries are severely blocked. Heart valve surgery addresses diseased valves that are either narrowed (stenotic) or leaking (regurgitant) — valves can be repaired or replaced with mechanical or biological prostheses. Aortic surgery deals with aneurysms (abnormal bulging of the aortic wall) and dissections (a tear within the aortic wall), both of which can be life-threatening emergencies. Congenital heart defects — structural abnormalities present from birth — may also require surgical correction.
How patients are referred
Most patients reach cardiovascular surgery after assessment by a cardiologist, who will have conducted investigations including electrocardiography (ECG), echocardiography, coronary angiography, and CT scanning. The decision to proceed to surgery — rather than other treatments such as medication or catheter-based interventional procedures — is made by a multidisciplinary team including cardiologists, cardiac surgeons, anaesthetists, and specialist nurses.
The surgical experience
Major cardiac surgery is performed under general anaesthesia, often with the use of cardiopulmonary bypass (the heart-lung machine), which temporarily takes over the function of the heart and lungs to allow the surgeon to operate on a still, bloodless field. Recovery in a specialist cardiac intensive care unit follows, before step-down to a ward and eventually discharge, typically within one to two weeks for planned procedures.
Choosing where to be treated
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