Pending Triple Bypass

[StillTickin]

I have some fairly serious angina. I am an otherwise healthy, active 53 y/o male. I went for a cath today, and I had it in my mind I'd get a stent or two, and be done with it. I was totally shocked when I was told I had artery problems that require open heart surgery. My cousin died 2 weeks ago, I'm told, from open heart bypass, that "went totally wrong". He got infected, and never really got over it.

Anyway, I'm a little concerned to say the least, and I'm looking for some success stories here on the boards. Can't sleep at the moment, worried my femoral will bleed out, lol.

Anyway, I'm told and I'm sure this is a very successful surgery, but I find myself totally shocked, and not at all prepared. I'm hoping the shock will wear off as this news sinks in over the next few weeks before surgery.

Thanks

[Notagoodpatient]

I do appreciate the feed back. Good questions for the surgeon. Thanks.

[ed34]

If they feel angioplasty isn't an option, you have no choice. A word of caution though, bypass is not a guarantee. It can last a couple of weeks to decades, and which one is anyones guess. If I had to have mine again (which failed after just 3 months) I would become more heavily involved. I would want to see the plans made by the surgeon showing where the grafts are going to be attached. I would insist my internal mammary arteries from both sides of my chest are used, and the radial arteries from my arms. I wouldn't want any veins used unless absolutely necessary. Veins are weaker and on average don't last half as long as arteries. Nearly all cardiologists are very willing to discuss their plans, it's just that most people are uneducated and therefore too scared to ask.

[Notagoodpatient]

did you ever get it done?  I'm in the same boat today.  Told I needed a triple after angioplasty, they wanted to transfer me for next day surgery, I told them no and left the hospital in shock.  Still debating go or no go.

[ed34]

Actually that's a very good point. I was laying in bed in a lot of pain until I finally decided to complain to the nurse. She said "oh, I do apologise, but our policy is that pain medication is kept to a minimum unless a patient requests more" What the heck?? surely they realise how uncomfortable it is. So, Anyone having bypass surgery, please ASK for extra pain killers if you are uncomfortable. I was on morphine for a little while, then tramadol for a few weeks.

[Another_SWFL_Guy]

I had a heart cath on Tuesday 9-7-10 and was told that I would need a triple bypass. A surgeon stopped by the cath recovery area and said that the schedule was full the following day, so I would be his first patient on Thursday morning 9-9-10.

The 40 hours in between was the worst 40 hours of my life. I'm a person who has to muster up courage to go get blood drawn.

But the surgeon said that 98 out of every 100 of his patients bounced back 100% after the procedure, so I finally resigned myself to the fact that I really had no other alternative. It was either face major surgery or have a major heart attack or stroke.

In the end, I approached things from this standpoint. My job was to wake up at 3:00 in the morning, get dressed, ride to the hospital with a friend, undress, let them shave me, then go to sleep. If I woke up after the surgery, that would be a bonus; if I didn't, I'd had a good run and scratched-off most of the items I had on life's "To Do List."

The surgery went well and everyone involved in my recuperation tells me that every facet of my recovery has been perfect. I plan to go into a cardio rehab program and then graduate into a wellness/fitness regimen a few months later.

If they offered a "Buy one, get the second one free" deal on bypass surgeries, trust this, no one would ever show up at the hospital looking for their free one.

There's pain involved -- mainly because your sternum is broken, but pain medication will be administered at your discretion. Coughing -- and heaven forbid, sneezing -- will definitely get your attention. You will learn to keep the aforementioned "Red pillow" within reach at all times.

But the bottom line is this, IMHO almost anyone can withstand (and survive) the surgery once and become part of the 98% success rate. And no part of the recovery process has been as dreadful as the 40 hours from diagnosis until check-in for surgical prep. Thinking about the procedure beforehand is by far the worst part of the ordeal.

Good luck to you.

[StillTickin]

Thanks. You're exactly right. Beats the alternative, trying to look at the stars from 6 feet in the ground.

[StillTickin]

Thanks for the good advice. I'm just resigning myself to the fact I have to get it done, and just about everything I've heard and read about the surgery indicates it is a highly successful procedure, so I'm determined to be as positive as I can, while accepting I'll be as nervous as you've described, no doubt about that.

[ed34]

The fear won't wear off, the day of the surgery will be the worse :(
I had three days notice for mine and got so nervous I took up smoking which was stupid before surgery. Looking at problem surgeries will make  you more anxious, but you have to put things into perspective. Millions of surgeries have no problems at all.
I think it helps to know what to expect, because you will be laying there wondering if everything is normal. I found it very mentally challenging wondering if all the wierd feelings were the norm. One piece of advice I can give, but the anaesthetist will ask you anyway, is if you have any form of a cough, tell them. You don't want your body, weakened from major surgery, to allow it to turn into full blown pneumonia. Any symptoms you have should be advised to the anaesthetist.
If you want any more information about the surgery or recovery, please don't hesitate to ask.

[ChatterAlly]

I haven't had the bypass yet, but my father did and did very well.  Consider the consequences if you do not have the bypass.  There are many in this forum that will speak well of the surgery. Seems today this is so common place. I hope you will keep us posted after your surgery.  Take care, Ally