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Swelling continues long after CABG..

My mother who is 65 yrs old was diagnosed for a triple vessel artery blockage diseases and went through CABG.The doctors told that her(s) was a very high risk surgery since her EF was only 21% at the time of CABG.By god's grace she survived the CABG however she was in the ICU for 10 days.*(whereas a normal patient stays only for 3-4 days)
It has been almost 4.5 months isnce her CABG was done.Her recovery has been very slow and to make the things worse,she has a lot of swelling in her legs which is now progessing to thighs

The surgeon started some diuretic to ease her swelling.It did improved a little bit in one of the legs however for the other leg it has worsened and it has even reached her thighs.She is so much frustrated with this as she is not able to sleep in the night due to the pain in swelling

She has been doing all that what has been prescribed to her-elevate her legs,wear stockings(she has been doing that all day even during summer) etc but no relief.

Our surgeon says it's normal.We are really confused as if we should consult an alternative surgeon if our surgeon is not able to understand

Please help with your experiences

thnx

Naveen
3 Responses
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1616953 tn?1443835511
Edema and leg pain in general after CABG is pretty standard from what I've read.  Tell your mom she might want to ask her Doctor(s) about compression hose.   I came home from CABG with leg pain *Throbbing and apparently some nerves were cut because both legs have numbness in some areas.   Our Neighbor suggested the Compression.   My surgeons staff told me they used to suggest it to all their patients.  The nurse I spoke to didn't understand the switch.   Maybe the cost?  Anyway the Doctor said yes so...  

For a guy its a tad embarrassing but I work on my feet.   For me it wake up put on the compression tights.  Take them off when I get into bed.  Water Pills like Lasix work fairly well but it adds a dozen trips to the bathroom.  *Which work frowns on.
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Avatar universal
Thnx for your response..

It's great to hear the same thing which our cardiac surgeon also said that it will take a yr or so for EF to increase because someone else told us that EF should increase immediately after surgery and if it doesn't,it stays the same thoughout the life,which if was true would have been a area of great concern for my mother considering her low EF.

Yes, she is already under a medication of lascilactone(diuretic) and our cardiologist has also advised to reduce her intake of fluid to 750ml for a week to see if the situation improves

Rgds

Naveen
Helpful - 0
367994 tn?1304953593
An EF below 29% is oftened the reason not to do any open heart surgery for occlusions as well as valve surgery.  Many times the EF will not return to normal (55-70) and that is the risk.  It appears currently the problem with your mother is the EF does not sufficiently pump blood  into circulation all the blood recieved from the lungs and this causes fluids to leak into the tissues.  It may take up to a year or so for the heart to heal, in the meantime treatment should be to reduce the heart's workload (dilate vessels, etc.) and a diuretic for the reduction of fluids (fluids stress the heart to work harder).
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