Surgery to repair part of the heart or one of the coronary arteries performed while the heart has been bypassed and the blood is circulated by a pump.
A procedure in which the heart is operated on after it is exposed through a surgical incision in the chest wall. During the surgery, a heart-lung machine takes over the work of the heart and lungs, circulating and oxygenating the blood. The most common open-heart procedure is bypass surgery. Other types include procedures to replace heart valves.
Surgery involving direct visualization and surgical procedure of the exposed heart.
A procedure involving the temporary cessation of the heart, where its role is assumed by a heart-lung machine, is referred to as open heart surgery. Primary types of open heart surgery encompass the rectification of congenital heart abnormalities, operations to fix constricted or leaking heart valves, and coronary artery bypass surgery.
After the heart-lung machine is set up, the heart is separated, and any abnormalities are mended. The heart is kept cold using surgical hypothermia, which aids in preventing injury to the heart muscle due to oxygen deprivation. Nowadays, new methods that allow surgeries on an active heart without resorting to a heart-lung machine are emerging.