What is bypass surgery?
When an artery and blood flow are blocked, bypass surgery creates a new pathway to get things moving again. A surgical bypass uses blood vessels near the blocked artery to reroute blood — just like a detour around a road that’s closed off due to construction or congestion. When there are not usable blood vessels nearby, synthetic veins are inserted to create the bypass.
When is a surgical bypass needed?
There are many different types of bypass surgeries, each named for the arteries that they correct:
- Coronary artery bypass – Your typical heart bypass surgery, it reroutes blood flow to your heart.
- Peripheral artery bypass – Long, narrow stretches of your arm or leg may require a surgical bypass to restore blood flow to the limb.
- Vascular disease bypass – Vascular conditions can restrict circulation to your belly or limbs, requiring doctors to reroute blood using multiple arteries.
Bypass surgery is necessary when other means of clearing a blocked artery don’t work. If doctors can’t remove or repair a blockage, they must go around it. This happens most commonly in treatments for critical limb ischemia, coronary heart disease (including heart attack and coronary artery disease) and peripheral artery disease.
If you’ve heard the terms triple bypass or quadruple bypass, they refer to the number of times an artery needs to be rerouted — most often in a heart bypass surgery to repair damage from a heart attack or prevent one from happening.
What are the risks of having a surgical bypass?
Hundreds of thousands of bypass surgeries are performed successfully every year. Success rates vary with the type of bypass, but can range from 80 to 95%. Your individual success rate — and risks — also vary based on your age and health as well as the location and complexity of your bypass. Your vascular surgeon will cover your individual risk and any potential complications beforehand, which may include:
- Heart attack or stroke
- Bleeding and blood clots
- Infections
- Lung or kidney failure
- Atrial fibrillation
- Confusion or memory problems
- Nerve damage surrounding the artery
- Failure of the bypass graft (vein) used
- Pneumonia
How do you prepare for bypass surgery?
A bypass is a major surgery and preparation is critical. Your surgical team will outline everything you need to do leading up to your bypass. The type of preparation — including the types of tests and exams — depend on your specific case. You can expect to:
- Quit usage of tobacco three to four weeks in advance.
- Adjust your medication schedule or stop taking certain meds altogether.
- Fast the day of your surgery.
- Receive imaging to check the health of your arteries.
What should I expect after a surgical bypass?
The results of bypass surgery typically last longer than on other treatments, especially non-invasive treatments like angioplasty stenting . Due to seriousness of surgery — and the health condition that led to it — your timeline for recovery is much longer.
It can take anywhere from six weeks to three months to recover from a surgical bypass. You’ll spend the first part of it in the hospital so your surgical team can monitor your condition and care for you at your weakness. You’ll be able to restart your normal activities in three to six weeks, all the while following your provider’s direction on pain management, exercise and incision care.
Recovery from heart bypass surgery is a slower road. It typically requires a stay in the intensive care unit for close monitoring of your heart and health as well as time in a cardiac rehabilitation program.