Whats Involved.....

[alistairb]

with a tripple heart bypass..................


Just got bk from my hols in devon to find my dad has not been very well complaining of chest pains n breathlessness while we were away and never told us....till monday after he just bout got down stairs n collasped, again complaining of the same....GP called then 999 was rushed in to hosp....ECG carried out and shows up that he has had 5 - 6 attacks before and he never even known............but how. is this possible............he`s just been in for an andeogram and iv just been told he`s gort to have a tripple heart bypass they said his tudes / arteries are all furred up.....so what is this and whats involved with the bypass....i guess it doesnt get anymore serious that this.....

so....over to you the YD masses of wisdon and knollage....

have you or familly / friends etc had one how long were u in hosp...have u been OK since with no probs.......

TIA all info / advice welcome etc....


Safe diving
alistair

[stevechesh]

My uncle had this op a few years ago. With him they took out good arteries in both his forearm and leg, but i believe it's the leg mainly. They then remove the knackered ones to the heart and chuck the new ones in, as simple as that!

He was in hospital for a few weeks. It's a long road to recovery. He'll end up with a good scar down the front of his chest and arm/leg. The bruising in the opened up areas took a long time to disappear and there was a reasonable amount of discomfort i'm told. He was short of breath and tired for a long time afterwards, and it was a good 6 months before he started to feel better again. That said, he was out playing a few holes of golf after 9-10 months and is absolutely fine now with no other ailments.

My uncle said the worst thing is the boredom and trying to get used to not being able to do the things you used to do, at the same pace, for a while. The pro's certainly outweigh the cons though. . . . .

Good luck to your Dad

[purple vonny]

Hi Alistair, sorry to hear your Dad has to go through this. Although it is a big operation, it is quite a common one. The "triple" bit just means they are going to bypass three of the arteries. They will take blood vessels from other parts of the body and replace the "furred up" heart arteries with them.

People who have heart bypass grafts are often tired for a while afterwards but it is not, according to those who have had the op, terribly painful. Patients are out of bed quite soon afterwards and encouraged to move about about and gently exercise.

The Doctor will no doubt suggest that he makes some life style changes after surgery, like changing diet and getting plenty of gentle exercise.

I hope it all goes well, good luck and best wishes

[alistairb]

Thanks Vonny and Steve....thats the thing he like me and my mam does`nt drink smoke etc and he`s very active and fit allways looks after his diet and is generally of good health...so this is well....supprise to us all....so i guess theres well in sort of way that the op is not so much of a issue as it was years ago if that makes sense like you said it is a common op and performed very often ...hope that makes sense.... i know wat i mean........

Thanks

safe diving
alistair

[purple vonny]

It is an operation that is performed frequently by specialist heart surgeons. It used to be a big deal 30 years ago because the heart itself is stopped and the circulation is done via a machine while they do the op. I remember working in cardio thoracic surgery in the early 80s and thinking how amazing it was that patients recovered so well and so quickly after such a complex operation.

It is unfortunate that some people's arteries are just prone to furring up more than others despite them leading a healthy lifestyle. It's not fair is it?

[alistairb]

Sadly Vonny life is`nt allways fair............how long does the op last.....

safe diving
alistair

[Gram43]

My late mother had 2 - 4way heart bypasses within around 10 years of each other. They do take a vein/artery from your leg in general, so he'll have a very long scar down one of his legs.
As been said these sort of ops are carried out all the time and it can be as a result of many things, my mothers problem was Angina which is a hardening and glogging of the arteries and leads to obstructed blood flow.
Sometimes the surgeons may try what is called a Stint which is a baloon type affair placed in the obstructed artery and blown up to open it again. However, if your dad has been diagnosed as needing a bypass, then he'll notice a major difference later.

Hope all goes well........Graham

[Gram43]

Originally Posted by alistairb

Sadly Vonny life is`nt allways fair............how long does the op last.....

safe diving
alistair

I'd say 6 hours at least as its fairly major surgery. Will it be done at The Freeman Hospital?

That's where my mother had her first bypass.

[purple vonny]

Originally Posted by alistairb

Sadly Vonny life is`nt allways fair............how long does the op last.....

safe diving
alistair

If you mean how long in theatre? I haven't seen one done since about 1980!!! At that time it was pretty much an all day job, about 6 hours. It may be quicker now, I just don't know.

[alistairb]

Thanks Gram...they did say they were if poss they would try n BLOW up the vain art if they could clear that way.....which is the easiest i believe but no at bout 7 tonite confirmed it was deff the bypass..............

safe diving
alistair