Open heart surgery
An open heart surgery refers to a surgical procedure in which the patient’s chest is opened, while surgery is performed on the heart.
The term “open” actually refers to the chest being open, not necessarily the heart. The heart may be opened, or not, depending on the type of surgery being performed.
Surgeons realized that intracardiac interventions took a long time, during which the patient needed a constant flow of blood to the body, especially to the brain. For this reason a method to maintain and artificial function of the heart and lungs was devised, the cardiopulmonary bypass, common method used during open heart surgery.
