Complication of Bypass

what are the complications of bypass?


This discussion is related to heart-lung machine effects?.

[kenkeith]

Here are some of the heart bypass surgery risks that you need to be aware of.

The return of chest pain, also known as angina is a common problem after you have surgery. There have been studies done that show that 98% of the people who have heart surgery will not have recurring chest pain for one year after the coronary artery bypass graft surgery.

It has also been shown that ten to twelve years after your surgery that only half the people will be free of angina. Usually angina will come back because of plaque that builds up continuously in the grafted arteries and other coronary arteries. After five years, two to three percent of the people who have this surgery will need to have another operation. For the people who have had vein grafts will often need to repeat the bypass surgeries more than the people who had artery grafts (mammary vessels).  
Risks associated with anesthesia. Everyone reacts differently to anesthesia. You will need to ask your doctor about the anesthesia risks.
Death is always a risk no matter what type of surgery you under go.
Heart attack. You will need to pay attention to your body so that if you feel any symptoms of a heart attack you can get to your doctor right away. You don’t want to ignore your body’s health but it is especially important after you have had surgery.
Stroke. Again you need to pay attention to your body. You will also need to go to the doctor on a regular basis. This is very important because your doctor can find health problems that you could be unaware of.
Excessive bleeding. This is something that you will have to watch and your doctor will be watching for it to.
Infection. Again this is always another risk of coronary artery bypass surgery . Right after you have surgery you will be put into intensive care so that the doctor and nurses can keep an eye on this. They won’t release you from the hospital until you have a lot less chance of getting an infection.
You may also experience subtle problems with your long term memory, comprehension, calculation skills and concentrations. You can ask your doctor about this to find out how long it will last and if there is anything you can do to help with this if it becomes a problem.
Before you have surgery your doctor will go over with you everything that will happen before, during and after the surgery. They will tell you what the risks are and you can ask any questions that you have. You want to make sure that you understand everything that will happen so don’t be afraid to ask.

[ed34]

I think if I had read that before my bypass surgery, I would have asked to be shot instead. I know they are all risks, but wow it's like looking at a death sentence.
Before I had my bypass surgery I had a whole battery of tests done to ensure I had a very good chance of getting through it all. I had so many blood tests, I thought I wondered if they actually left any blood in my system. I had x-rays of my chest from all angles. I had doppler echo tests of various arteries including the carotid arteries. I had different lung function tests to ensure they would recover the surgery. They checked my history with any allergies. I was tested 3 times with swabs under the arms, in the mouth and around the groin area (and yes they were all different swabs, not the same one). I had to shower twice a day three days prior to surgery and wasn't allowed out of bed from 7pm to lower my chance of infection. Lots of cautionary measures were taken. A surgeon will carefully look at the results and decide if there is anything he is uncomfortable with, as will the surgical team leader who acts as the second opinion. So, don't worry yourself silly over this. If you have something causing a concern to the surgeon, he/she will certainly inform you.

[cblmn7]

ed and ken keith pretty much gave you all the risks there are. your heart dr will go over yours. another risk which comes after can be depression. hang in there i just had my bypass 6 wks ago and its getting better

[ed34]

My bypass involved 2 veins from my leg and a mammary artery from the chest. In just three months the feed from all three stopped and yet I'm still here. So even after surgery, if problems occur, you can have more intervention. Mine was to have 5 stents to rectify the problem.