Coronary Artery Bypass Graft

A CABG surgery can be used to treat a blockage or narrowing of one or more of the arteries that carry oxygen-rich blood to your heart. The most common condition treated with CABG is coronary artery disease. Your doctor may recommend you have a CABG procedure if you have:

• An angioplasty (with or without a stent) that hasn’t worked.
• A blockage in your left main artery that provides a lot of blood to your heart.
• A blocked artery that can’t be treated by angioplasty.
• More than one diseased artery and a lower left heart chamber that doesn’t work correctly.
• Severe chest pain from the narrowing of several heart arteries.
• Severe narrowing in your main heart artery.

Our expert cardiac surgeons are trained to complete CABG procedures using both traditional and minimally invasive techniques. In fact, our Chief of Cardiac Surgery Joseph McGinn, M.D., pioneered the minimally invasive approach many of our cardiac surgeons now perform.

We will work with you to determine which CABG surgery option is best for you. 

Most people who have CABG surgery require several weeks to recover from the procedure. Immediately following the surgery, you will spend a couple of days in intensive care for close monitoring by our cardiovascular team. You will then move to a regular hospital room for at least a week. Your length of stay will depend on the complexity of your procedure, how quickly you recover and other medical conditions you have. If you received MICS CABG, your stay will be much shorter.

After leaving the hospital, you will likely participate in a cardiac rehabilitation program. This provides a safe recovery supported by our cardiac rehab specialists. It includes an exercise program, nutrition counseling and other supportive services to help you regain your strength after surgery.