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Open heart surgery

A surgical procedure, known as a [[coronary Artery bypass graft]], which involves replacing diseased (narrowed) coronary arteries with veins obtained from the patients lower extremities (autologous graft). During this procedure the patient is placed on a heart bypass machine (heart-lung machine) to allow the surgeon adequate time to perform surgery on the resting (nonbeating) heart. This procedure has proven to extend the lives of individuals with [[coronary Artery disease]] and improve the quality of life. Recovery in the hospital is approximately 7-10 days.