Defibrillator implant surgery is performed to implant a device to help control a patient’s heart rhythm. There are two types of devices, pacemakers and implantable cardioverter defibrillator (ICD). Both help treat arrhythmias–irregularities in your heart’s natural heart rhythm. Almost everyone’s heart skips a beat and most are considered harmless. Some patients, however, will need medication and/or a defibrillator implant.

Heart bypass surgery or coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) is a surgical procedure in which a section of a coronary artery, which has been partially or completely blocked, is bypassed by transplanting a healthy section of blood vessel around the diseased area. The conduit to route blood around the obstructed area may be an artery or a vein. There is some information that arteries may have a better long-term patency rate (chance of staying open for years) than veins. The arteries and veins used for the bypass procedure are taken from the patient's own body; they may be harvested from within the chest, the arms or the legs. This procedure is performed in a hospital under general anesthesia.

Heart valve repair surgery is performed to repair malfunctioning heart valves. Examples of these can be valves that are blocked, narrowed or leaking. There are four valves in your heart. The mitral and aortic valves are the most commonly repaired, followed by the tricuspid valve. Some procedures performed include valvuloplasty, valvotomy, valvectomy, or commissurotomy. All procedures are performed in a hospital setting by a cardiac surgeon under general anesthesia.

Heart valve surgery involves replacement or repair of diseased heart valves. Surgery may be recommended for the narrowing of the heart valve (stenosis), leaking of the heart valve (regurgitation) or prolapse (when the mitral valve flaps do not close properly). Replacement heart valves can be either natural (from human or animal donors), or artificial (metal).

A pacemaker is a small, battery-operated device implanted just under the skin near the collarbone to help the heart beat regularly at an appropriate rate. Pacemakers are about the size of a matchbox and is used to treat heart arrhythmias — irregularities in your heart’s natural heart rhythm. Almost everyone’s heart skips a beat and most are considered harmless. Some patients, however, will need medication and/or a pacemaker. A pacemaker usually has two parts: a pulse generator (which includes the battery and several electronic circuits); and a lead(s), (which is attached to the heart wall). Pacemaker surgery is performed under local anesthesia. It is implanted just near the collarbone.