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Heart bypass surgery - minimally invasive - Risks

Alternative Names

Minimally invasive direct coronary artery bypass; MIDCAB; Robot assisted coronary artery bypass; RACAB; Keyhole heart surgery

Risks:

Ask your doctor about the risks of surgery. In general, the complications of minimally invasive coronary artery bypass are lower than with open coronary artery bypass surgery.

Risks for any surgery include:

  • Blood clots in the legs that may travel to the lungs
  • Breathing problems
  • Heart attack or stroke
  • Infection of the lungs, urinary tract, and chest
  • Blood loss

Possible risks of coronary artery bypass include:

  • Memory loss, loss of mental clarity, or "fuzzy thinking" - less common in people who have minimally invasive coronary artery bypass than in people who have open coronary bypass
  • Heart rhythm problems (arrhythmia)
  • A chest wound infection - this is more likely to happen if you are obese, have diabetes, or have had coronary bypass surgery in the past
  • Low-grade fever and chest pain (together called postpericardiotomy syndrome), which can last up to 6 months
  • Reviewed last on: 6/2/2010
  • Shabir Bhimji MD, PhD, Specializing in Cardiothoracic and Vascular Surgery, Midland , TX Review provided by VeriMed Healthcare Network. Also reviewed by David Zieve, MD, MHA, Medical Director, A.D.A.M., Inc.

References

Ferraris VA, Mentzer RM Jr. Acquired heart disease: coronary insufficiency. In: Townsend CM, Beauchamp RD, Evers BM, Mattox KL, eds. Sabiston Textbook of Surgery. 18th ed. Philadelphia, Pa: Saunders Elsevier; 2008:chap 61.

Fraker TD Jr, Fihn SD, Gibbons RJ, Abrams J, Chatterjee K, Daley J, et al. 2007 chronic angina focused update of the ACC/AHA 2002 Guidelines for the management of patients with chronic stable angina: a report of the American College of Cardiology/American Heart Association Task Force on Practice Guidelines Writing Group to develop the focused update of the 2002 Guidelines for the management of patients with chronic stable angina. Circulation. 2007;116(23):2762-2772.

Møller CH, Perko MJ, Lund JT, et al. No major differences in 30-day outcomes in high-risk patients randomized to off-pump versus on-pump coronary bypass surgery: the best bypass surgery trial. Circulation. 2010 Feb 2;121(4):498-504. Epub 2010 Jan 18.

Thiele H, Neumann-Schniedewind P, Jacobs S, et al. Randomized comparison of minimally invasive direct coronary artery bypass surgery versus sirolimus-eluting stenting in isolated proximal left anterior descending coronary artery stenosis. J Am Coll Cardiol. 2009 Jun 23;53(25):2324-31.

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