Heart bypass surgery incision

Minimally invasive heart bypass surgery is done without stopping the heart and putting the patient on a heart-lung machine. A 3 to 5 inch (8 to 13 cm) incision is made in the left part of the chest between the ribs. This incision is much less traumatic than the traditional heart bypass surgery incision which separates the breast bone. Minimally invasive heart bypass surgery allows the patient less pain and a faster recovery.

Heart - front view — The external structures of the heart include the ventricles, atria, arteries and veins. Arteries carry blood away from the heart while veins carry blood into the heart. The vessels colored blue indicate the transport of blood with relatively low content of oxygen and high content of carbon dioxide. The vessels colored red indicate the transport of blood with relatively high content of oxygen and low content of carbon dioxide.

Last reviewed August 23, 2022 by Thomas S. Metkus, MD, Assistant Professor of Medicine and Surgery, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD. Also reviewed by David C. Dugdale, MD, Medical Director, Brenda Conaway, Editorial Director, and the A.D.A.M. Editorial team..