Having Heart Surgery at Cleveland Clinic
The kind of heart surgery you’ll have depends on your diagnosis. Different heart conditions require different types of surgery. You may need:
Coronary artery surgery
For some cases of coronary artery disease, we can open narrowed or blocked arteries with a minimally invasive coronary angioplasty and stent.
If you have a severe blockage, we may do coronary artery bypass surgery (CABG), commonly called heart bypass surgery. This surgery treats coronary artery disease (CAD).
Surgeons will create a detour around your blocked arteries by taking a healthy blood vessel from your chest wall, arm or leg and connecting (grafting) it to your heart to treat the blocked one. If they do this with more than one blood vessel, it’s called double (2), triple (3) or quadruple (4) bypass surgery.
Often, you’ll be on a heart-lung (cardiopulmonary) bypass machine to help you breathe and keep your heart working during surgery. But other times, your surgeon might decide to do off-pump bypass surgery. This means they’ll operate on your heart without a heart-lung machine. And your heart will beat on its own during surgery.
Heart valve surgery
We often use surgery to repair or replace abnormal or damaged heart valves. The type of heart valve surgery you have depends on what’s causing the problem. You may have:
- Aortic valve surgery, including the aortic root or aorta and transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR).
- Mitral valve repair and replacement, including robotic-assisted and minimally invasive.
- Tricuspid valve surgery.
- Pulmonic valve surgery.
- Bicuspid aortic valve surgery.
- Infective endocarditis surgery.
Aortic surgery
We use aorta surgery for conditions like weakened or bulging aortic walls (aortic aneurysm) and stretching or tearing in it (aortic dissection). You may have aneurysm repair surgery to treat aortic problems in your belly and chest. To make repairs to your aorta, we may do:
- Endovascular surgery.
- Open aneurysm repair surgery.
Heart rhythm surgery
When your heart isn’t beating normally, sometimes surgery can be the best way to get a normal heartbeat (rhythm) — especially if other treatments haven’t worked. For some of these procedures, you may work with an electrophysiologist (cardiologist). These procedures can include:
- MAZE procedure.
- Convergent procedure.
- Catheter ablation.
- Permanent pacemaker.
- Implantable cardioverter defibrillator.
Pericardial surgery
When the double-walled, fluid-filled sac around your heart (pericardium) becomes too stiff, it can affect how your heart pumps blood (constrictive pericarditis). A pericardiectomy removes part or all of your pericardium. Also known as “pericardial stripping,” we do this treatment through open-heart surgery or a thoracotomy.
Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy surgery
A treatment called septal myectomy can help if you have hypertrophic cardiomyopathy. This condition causes your heart muscle to thicken. It usually affects the septum, a muscle dividing the two sides of your heart. We can remove a small part of the septum to improve blood flow in your heart.
Left ventricular assist devices (LVADs)
Having heart failure means your heart may need help pumping blood (mechanical circulatory support). We can implant a left ventricular assist device that pumps blood from the left chamber of your heart (left ventricle) to your aorta. We’ll use a heart-lung bypass machine and a ventilator during this open surgery (sternotomy). Or your surgeon may choose to do a thoracotomy.
Heart transplant surgery
When treatments don’t work, or your heart is too damaged to be repaired (end-stage heart failure), your providers may recommend a heart transplant. We did our first heart transplant in 1964 and have done more than 2,000 since then. If you’re a candidate for one, you’ll go on the waiting list for a donor heart. You may need “bridge treatment” while you wait to help your heart keep working as best it can. You may have a left ventricular assist device or an intra-aortic balloon pump. Or you may receive a total artificial heart, depending on your condition. You may also take medications.
Traveling for Heart Care at Cleveland Clinic
We know that traveling for any kind of healthcare can often be stressful and overwhelming. If you’re coming to us from another city, state or even another country, we’re here to help make things as easy and convenient as possible for you. From knowing where to stay and where to eat to knowing how to get to and from the airport, shop or just find your way around any of our hospitals, we’re here for you.
If you’re an international patient, our experienced and compassionate Global Patient Services (GPS) team will help you navigate Cleveland Clinic. They’ll connect you with the healthcare providers you need, help you make appointments, provide language translation services and coordinate follow-up care when you return home.
Life After Heart Surgery
Recovery time from heart surgery depends on what type of surgery you had and your condition before and after surgery. Some surgeries may take only a week or so to recover from, while others could take eight weeks or more. Once you’ve had heart surgery, it’s important to keep up with your medications, cardiac rehab program and regular follow-up appointments. Doing this helps you have the best possible results during recovery and beyond.
Taking the Next Step
Heart surgery can have a big impact on your life. And you might feel a difference soon after your procedure. But, in the weeks or months leading up to it, it’s OK to feel a little nervous about what to expect. Having heart surgery is a big deal. That’s why our cardiology providers are here to guide you through it all — from preparing for surgery and having the operation to recovering from it. When you come to Cleveland Clinic for heart surgery, you can be sure you have the most experienced and caring team on your side as you move toward a healthier heart.
