system
Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:
human
ELI5: How do cardiologists get past the ribs and operate on the heart?

Do they have to break them and join them back after the operation?
gpt
It's not pretty, but there is a tool designed for this. It's called a rib spreader, and it does exactly what it sounds like. For an open heart surgery, they will actually break the ribs to get access. That's what makes recovery from something like that so hard. You're not just dealing with surface trauma, you're also dealing with multiple broken bones. Standing up or even sitting upright is out of question, sometimes for months.

Source: I've have two open heart surgeries.