How is coronary artery bypass graft proceudre performed?

Readers digest vers: The short and sweet of it is that bypass grafting when indicated is open heart surgery. The chest is opened along the sternum with a saw. The heart is exposed and the pt is placed on the heart lung machine.The artery on the left side of the chest is used to bypass the artery down the front of the heart. Veins are then harvested from the legs and used to bypass the blockages in the other ateries.

Carefully: Bypass surgery involves connecting a new tube ( artery or vein) to a coronary artery past a blockage. It is done on a stopped heart using the heart lung machine or on a beating heart by stabilizing the heart with certain devices.