Coronary Artery Bypass Surgery (CABG) in Pittsburgh, PA

Coronary artery bypass surgery is a very invasive and often a very difficult procedure for surgeons to perform. A surgical error could lead to a traumatic consequence for you or your loved one. It could lead to serious complications down the line or even death. Whenever you or a loved one has suffered a surgical error for a complicated procedure like a coronary bypass, you need to find attorneys who can fight for you and your claim. Medical malpractice in delicate situations like a coronary artery bypass surgery can lead to you fighting for your life or even worse. You need to find experienced medical malpractice attorneys who know how to fight for you when a surgical error occurs. The Pittsburgh surgical error attorneys at Berger Lagnese & Paul, LLC have years of experience fighting surgeons and hospitals for their clients. Contact our offices today to set up your free consultation with our experienced attorneys.

Surgical Error Attorneys in Pittsburgh, PA

Coronary Artery Bypass Surgery is a type of heart surgery. It’s sometimes called CABG (“cabbage”). The surgery reroutes, or “bypasses,” blood around clogged arteries to improve blood flow, thereby increasing the amount of oxygen brought to the heart.Why this surgery is done. Just like all the other organs in your body, your heart needs blood and oxygen to do its job. The arteries that bring blood to the heart muscle are called coronary arteries.  Coronary arteries snake across the surface of your heart, delivering a constant supply of blood and oxygen to the heart muscle.  When one or more of these arteries become narrowed or blocked, blood and oxygen are reduced and heart muscle is damaged.  They can become clogged by plaque (a buildup of fat, cholesterol and other substances).  This can slow or stop blood flow through the arteries, causing chest pain or a heart attack.  Increasing blood flow to the heart muscle can relieve chest pain and reduce the risk of heart attack.

Coronary Bypass Surgery Error Attorneys in Pittsburgh, PA

How bypass surgery is done

Coronary bypass surgery generally takes between three and six hours and requires general anesthesia. Most coronary bypass surgeries are done through a large incision in the chest while blood flow is diverted through a heart-lung machine (called “on-pump coronary bypass surgery”).

The surgeon makes an incision down the center of the chest, along the breastbone. The rib cage is spread open to expose the heart. After the chest is opened, the heart is temporarily stopped and a heart-lung machine takes over blood circulation to the body.

The surgeons take a segment of a healthy blood vessel (vein or artery) from another part of the body and makes a detour around the blocked part of the coronary artery.  For example, the surgeon often takes the internal mammary artery from the chest wall, and attaches the ends above and below the blocked area.  Alternatively, the surgeon may take a piece of a long vein in your lower leg and use that for the bypass.  Either way, blood will now flow along this new path to your heart muscle, and will be diverted (bypassed) around the narrow or blocked portion of the artery.

At the time of the bypass surgery, a patient my undergo 1, 2, 3 or more bypass grafts, depending on how many coronary arteries are blocked.

Pittsburgh Surgery Error Lawyers for Coronary Bypass Surgeries

There are other methods your surgeon may use if you’re having coronary bypass surgery:

• Off-pump or beating-heart surgery. This procedure allows surgery to be done on the still-beating heart using special equipment to stabilize or quiet the area of the heart the surgeon is working on. This type of surgery is challenging because the heart is still moving. Because of this, it’s not an option for everyone. The long-term outcome of this type of procedure is not yet known, and there have been no proven benefits of this technique over standard coronary bypass using the heart-lung machine in the average patient.
• Minimally invasive surgery. In this procedure, a surgeon performs coronary bypass through a smaller incision in the chest, often with the use of robotics and video imaging that help the surgeon operate in a small area. Variations of minimally invasive surgery may be called port-access or keyhole surgery.For more information, see the medical malpractice attorneys of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

Contact Our Pittsburgh Offices Today to Schedule Your Free Consultation to Evaluate Your Coronary Bypass Surgery Error Claim

When you or a loved one have suffered a surgical error on a very invasive surgery such as a coronary bypass, you need to find experienced attorneys who will represent you to the best of their ability. The Pittsburgh lawyers at Berger Lagnese & Paul, LLC have years of experience fighting for their clients to win cases. If you have been injured as a result of a surgical error for a coronary bypass or any other type of surgery in a Pittsburgh area hospital such as UPMC Presbyterian or Forbes Hospital, contact our offices today to schedule your free consultation. Our office is located at 310 Grant St #720, Pittsburgh, PA 15219 and consultations can be scheduled either online here or over the phone at (412) 471-4300.