Unable to find answers

How long in years does a heart bypass last? In what situations would a physician be unable to replace a blocked artery bypass with a new one? Is this something common.  My grandmother had heart bypass surgery in 1998. They are now telling her that the quadruple bypass done then is 100% blocked, but there is nothing they can do because they can't just "re-do" the old bypass. Are there other alternatives to the bypass graft? Should she get a second opinion?

[Douglas Bogart, MD]

The duration of the results from bypass surgery depend on the quality of the vessels that were grafted and on what grafts were used.  The left internal mammary artery has a ten year patency of 95% and the veins from the legs a 50% patency.  You likely should get a second opinion to make sure everything is being done.

[DAWN718843]

Thank you very much for your response, we are currently searching for a facility that is not associate with the diagnosing physician.