Open Heart Surgery

In addition to minimally invasive procedures for treating coronary artery disease, at Mount Sinai Fuster Heart Hospital, we typically perform two types of open heart surgical procedures; heart bypass surgery and off-pump bypass surgery:

Heart Bypass Surgery

Heart bypass surgery, also called coronary artery bypass graft surgery, involves replacing diseased arteries with healthy ones. In select patients, we may use the daVinci Surgical System, a robotic device, to perform this procedure in a minimally invasive manner.

"We have tremendous experience here in performing coronary bypass surgery, not only in healthier patients, but also in those with other serious medical conditions, including kidney and liver disease," says Farzan Filsoufi, MD, Professor of Cardiovascular Surgery.

Off-Pump Bypass Surgery

Off-pump bypass, or "beating heart" surgery, does not involve the use of a heart-lung machine. This procedure reduces the need for blood transfusions, decreases risk of bleeding, stroke, and kidney failure, and lessens chance of nerve damage. In addition, hospital stays are shorter than with heart bypass surgery, and patients can make a quicker return to day-to-day activities.

"For the right patients, off-pump graft surgery is a better option than conventional surgery," says Ramachandra Reddy, MD, Assistant Professor of Cardiovascular Surgery. For this type of surgery, the heart-lung machine is not used. Using stabilizing techniques, the surgeon grafts the bypass onto the heart while it continues to beat.