Minimally invasive bypass surgery (MIDCAB) in hybrid procedures

It is possible to perform a bypass without opening the chest - by means of a so-called MIDCAB operation (minimally invasive direct coronary artery bypass operation). In this minimally invasive procedure, the left thoracic artery is prepared for bypass. Our specialists open the chest through an incision about four centimetres long under the left nipple (1), after which they can connect the chest wall artery to the coronary artery "off-pump", i.e. without a heart-lung machine. A simple bypass is created. During the same operation, they can implant stents in the narrowed vessels if necessary.

Surgical access for minimally invasive bypass surgery

This procedure is a novelty and is performed in a special hybrid operating room. Hybrid stands for the combination of different techniques: in this case, stent implantation by catheter and bypass surgery (1).

The hybrid procedure combines two techniques: conventional heart surgery with the creation of a bypass and coronarography with the implantation of a stent.