CABG and Postoperative CABG Complications

Coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) restores blood flow to myocardium beyond an obstructed coronary segment by attaching a conduit—arterial or venous—distal to the lesion. The operation improves perfusion, but it does not remove the atherosclerotic disease that caused the obstruction. The patient still needs antiplatelet therapy when indicated, lipid lowering, blood-pressure and glycemic control, smoking cessation, physical activity, and cardiac rehabilitation. The immediate postoperative danger is not one single complication. It is a change in a trend: chest-tube drainage that suddenly stops after brisk bleeding, a narrowing pulse pressure with falling urine output, a new rhythm that reduces cardiac output, or a neurologic change after an apparently stable handoff. The nurse links these findings rather than waiting for a classic textbook triad. Continuous rhythm surveillance, repeated hemodynamic assessment, respiratory assessment, urine-output measurement, neurologic checks, and inspection of the sternum and harvest site create the baseline needed to recognize deterioration. The timing helps focus surveillance. Bleeding, low cardiac output, vasoplegia, respiratory compromise, and tamponade matter immediately after surgery. Postoperative atrial fibrillation is especially common during the first several postoperative days. Kidney...