Open Heart Surgery

Trusted Open Heart Surgery in MA from Southcoast Health

Open heart surgery is a treatment for a number of heart diseases, including coronary artery disease (CAD), valve disease and more. At Southcoast Health, we understand that open heart surgery can be intimidating. That’s why our award-winning cardiovascular surgeons provide the utmost care when it comes to open heart surgery in southeastern Massachusetts and Rhode Island.

Types of Open Heart Surgery

Take comfort knowing that our experienced surgeons, together with a dedicated cardiac surgery team, can perform some of the most advanced surgical techniques, including minimally invasive and robotic surgery with the da Vinci system. The cardiovascular surgeons at Southcoast Health perform many types of open heart surgery, including:

• Conventional and off-pump coronary bypass grafting (CABG)
• Aortic, mitral and tricuspid valve repair and replacement
• Aortic aneurysm surgery
• Valve-sparing aortic root replacement
• Adult congenital cardiac defect repair
• Atrial fibrillation ablation procedures
• Transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR)
• Cardiac tumor procedures
• Robotic surgery/da Vinci
• And more

What to Expect from Heart Surgery

A common cardiac surgery procedure at Southcoast is coronary artery bypass graft (CABG) surgery. With a CABG operation, your cardiac surgeon makes an incision in your breastbone to access your heart. There are two versions of CABG surgery:

• On-pump surgery is the most common method. It uses a heart-lung machine to divert blood from the heart, so the surgeon operates on a still heart clear of blood.
• Off-pump surgery does not use a heart-lung machine. The surgery is performed with the heart beating. Off-pump heart bypass surgery is sometimes used to reduce the risk of stroke in patients with a high risk of stroke.

Cardiovascular surgeons perform coronary bypass surgery to restore normal blood flow to the heart muscle and reduce the risk of a heart attack or as emergency treatment for a heart attack. Your doctor may recommend surgery when angioplasty or stenting isn’t the right choice for you.

This may depend on the:

• Severity of your symptoms
• Location of blockages in your coronary arteries
• Number of blockages
• Severity of your blockages
• Success of previous angioplasty and stenting procedures

If you would like to learn more about cardiac surgery at Southcoast Health, find a cardiovascular surgeon near you and schedule a consultation.

Southcoast Health performs heart surgery, including coronary artery bypass graft surgery or CABG, in Fall River, MA.