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Since the first open heart surgery performed in 1966, McLaren Greater Lansing has accomplished more than 14,000 such procedures. The flagship of McLaren Greater Lansing's heart program, the cardiac surgery program has earned McLaren Greater Lansing renown as a heart center of excellence. A broad range of cardiac surgical options are available at McLaren Greater Lansing.
- Open heart (coronary artery bypass, or CABG) surgery is performed in order to reroute, or "bypass," blood around blocked arteries, thereby improving the supply of oxygen-rich blood to the heart. Surgeons usually use an artery from the chest wall to construct the "detour" around the blocked part of the artery. Veins from the legs are also used.
- Off-pump bypass surgery is now possible for some open heart surgery patients. While standard open heart surgery requires the use of a mechanical heart-lung machine during the procedure, this new development reduces the risk of some complications and shortens recovery time.
- Valve repair or replacement is performed when a heart valve is leaking, or when the opening is too small to allow sufficient blood to flow. Surgeons try first to repair a valve. When replacement is necessary, either a mechanical (artificial) or biological (human or animal) valve is used.
- Transmyocardial revascularization (TMR) is a new surgical treatment for patients who otherwise cannot undergo coronary angioplasty or heart bypass surgery for their debilitating chest pain. First performed at McLaren Greater Lansing, TMR brings life-altering relief from pain to people with angina. A surgeon exposes the beating heart through a small incision, then uses a laser catheter to create 30-50 tiny "holes," or channels throughout the heart. The result is drastically reduced chest pain.
- Repair of structural heart defects are performed to correct defects in the structures of the heart that are the result of a congenital birth defect or acquired as a result of other cardiac diseases.
- Cardiac trauma surgery is performed when the heart is damaged or involved in a traumatic injury.