Arteries are blood vessels that carry blood from your heart to your organs and tissues. Fatty deposits can build up on artery walls and harden into a substance called plaque. As plaque builds, it narrows and hardens the artery. This is called atherosclerosis. Majority of the times this block can be removed by less invasive procedures like balloon angioplasty and stenting. When the block is severe involving long segment of artery balloon angioplasty may not be possible and a bypass surgery is advised.
In this procedure natural tube (vein from the leg) is connected to the normal artery above the block and to the open artery below the block so that blood can flow to the part affected by the lack of blood. Most often the vein is harvested from the same leg. When the vein is not available artificial tube (PTFE or Dacron) made of polyester or Teflon can be used. However, the best results are seen with native vein bypass.
Prior to bypass surgery an angiogram is done to locate the block and study the artery beyond the block. This gives a road map to plan the surgery. Bypass can be done to any blocked artery. But most often bypass is done for the thigh artery (Femoral artery) since results after bypass are better than angioplasty which is less durable and has significant incidence of recurrence of block
Post Bypass surgery patient has to stay in the hospital for 5-7 days and it may take 2-3 weeks to fully resume normal activities.
Patient has to take antiplatelet drugs (blood thinners) and anti-cholesterol medicines for a long time, may be indefinitely.
If the patient has gangrene, the dead tissue has to be cut and removed only after the blood flow to the foot is restored
