How are the blockages in the coronary artery bypassed?
The blockages in the coronary artery are not removed but will be bypassed using the saphenous vein from the leg and/or the internal mammary artery from the chest. The saphaneous vein is removed from the leg and one end of the saphenous vein graft is sewn to the largest artery in the body (aorta) and the other end is sewn past the obstruction into the coronary artery. The internal mammary artery is freed at one end in the chest and sewn past the obstruction into the coronary artery. Either graft reroutes the flow of oxygen-rich blood to the heart muscle. These procedures can be compared to a road detour. If you have a stent in place in the vessels bypassed, the stents are not removed.
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