What is open-heart surgery?
As the term suggests, open-heart surgery is an operation where the heart is cut open. The purpose of the procedure is to gain access to the inside chambers of the heart in order to correct any anomaly, to repair or replaced disease heart valve, repair a hole in the walls of the heart, or to remove a tumor, etc. How much schooling does a heart surgeon have? After high school, four years of college (pre-med), five years of medical schooling, four years of residency training in General Surgery (a pre-requisite), two years of Thoracic (chest) Surgery, which includes Cardiac Surgery, six months or a year of vascular surgery and/or laboratory animal research (optional) and a year of fellowship in cardiac surgery (for refinement of surgical techniques). In short, a total of 16 to 18 years, after graduating from high school. Is coronary bypass an open-heart procedure? No. Technically, coronary bypass procedure is a close-heart, and not an open-heart, procedure, since the heart is not cut open
