Coronary Artery Disease (CABG)

• This procedure is done when there is an obstructed coronary artery that cannot be opened with the coronary angioplasty procedure. Usually the patient is suffering from angina.
• The blockage can be anywhere from 50 to 99%. 
• The surgery can be performed off-pump (without cardiopulmonary bypass or stopping the heart) – this has the advantage of having post-op side effects – or on-pump beating (with partial help from the cardiopulmonary machine).
• The procedure is done in generally 2 approaches:

1. The left internal thoracic artery is diverted to the left anterior descending branch of the left coronary artery.
2. A great saphenous vein is removed from a leg and one end is connected to the aorta or one of its major branches, and the other end is attached to the obstructed artery right after the obstruction in order to supply that part with blood flow. In some cases however, the patients own blood vessels may not be suitable for grafting – prosthetic grafts are used in these cases.