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Heart bypass surgery - series

Procedure, part 2:

Coronary bypass surgery is an open heart surgery (the chest is opened, but not the heart itself). It is done through an opening through the breast bone. While one surgeon is working on the chest, another surgeon works on taking a length of vein (saphenous vein) for the bypass through a long incision along the inside of the lower leg. The vein is sewn in above and below the blockage in the coronary artery. Alternatively, an artery from the interior aspect of the chest wall (internal mammary artery), or the arm (radial artery) is used.

Reviewed last on: 5/15/2008
Robert A. Cowles, MD, Assistant Professor of Surgery, Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons, New York, NY. Review provided by VeriMed Healthcare Network. Also reviewed by David Zieve, MD, MHA, Medical Director, A.D.A.M., Inc.

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