Open Heart Surgery, Research Paper Example

The surgical procedure that was observed for the Anatomy and Physiology class was a repair of an ascending aorta aneurysm, which required an open heart surgery. To begin, an aneurysm is referred to as a balloon-like projection present in an artery.   If an aneurysm bursts, this can lead to internal bleeding resulting in death.  (Texas Heart Institute, 2015)   There are two main purposes for surgery on aneurysms: the prevention of rupture and increase survival.  The guidelines for medical intervention are based on professional opinion.  For instance, the aortic diameter for surgery varies and is based on the cause, the presence of a tissue disorder, age, other medical problems, and family history.  (Autorepair.com, 2015; John Hopkins Medicine, 2015)  In this case, the cardiac surgeon provided a brief history of the patient.  The patient was 62 years and exhibited a family history of bad aortic valves and chronic heart failure (CHF), with his father dying at 42 of heart failure.  In addition, the patient had a history smoking one half a pack of cigarettes per day, along with a high levels of low-density lipoproteins (LDL) at over 100 milligrams per deciliter.

For the surgery, the students observed the surgery from the Dome room.  The surgery took approximately four hours.  The surgeon applied an incision to the midsagittal section of the chest to complete the surgery.  Clamps were placed on the artery both above and below the aneurysm. The protruding section of the aorta was then excised out.  The surgeon then replaced the excised piece with a pig valve composed of three leaflets made from the valves of three pigs.  The clamps were then slowly removed allowing for blood flow and the patient was stitched along the midsagittal region.  There were no complications observed and the surgery seemed to run smoothly.

The experience of a live open heart surgery was extremely interesting and captivating.  Learning hands-on how surgeons accurately perform a surgery on such a fragile part of the body was unbelievable.  In addition, I was very surprised at how noticeable the aneurism was on the heart.  If I had learned anything during this experience, it was the courage and confidence in which doctors possess in order to save a life.

Works Cited

Autorepair.com.  Ascending aorta aneurysm.  (2015)  Retrieved from: http://www.aortarepair.com/ascending-aortic-aneurysms.html

John Hopkins Medicine.  “Heart Valve Repair or Replacement Surgery”.  (2015) Retrieved from: http://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/healthlibrary/test_procedures/cardiovascular/heart_valve_repair_or_replacement_surgery_92,P07975/

Texas Heart Institute.  Aneurysm Repair. (2015) Retrieved from: http://www.texasheart.org/HIC/Topics/Proced/asurg.cfm