brain damaged after bypass

[mapaisansub]

my dad has been operated on Jan, 9 2008(he is 74 years old.), and now he still sleep. he has no any underlying desieses. after OR for 2 days the surgeon has consulted the neuro doctor and i was informed that my dad's brain has been damaged about 2/3 portion at the front left of the brain. they said that it might occur while the operating. it is terrible for me cause i told my dad to see doctor. ok, my dad is unconcious what should i do? please help

[sisterchick]

I just wanted to give you this cyber hug (((((map)))))) and tell you I am praying for your dad.

[Cleveland Clinic]

There is really nothing that you can do at this point.  this is an unfortunate complication of bypass surgery.  At this point, only time will tell what happens to your dad.  He may get some of his brain function back but he may also remain this way as well, unfortunately.      Don't blame yourself for referring your dad to see a doctor.  Unfortunately, these complication happen.

[Healthyself2]

I see by your profile that you work with wildlife.  As we speak, I have a dozen elk laying in my back yard chewing their cuds.  

I live in the Washington Cascades between Mt. Rainier, Mt. Adams, and Mt. St. Helens.  We've had a huge amount of snow this year and quite a few people around town are subsidizing the elk's diets a bit to get then through the hard part of the winter.

I saw 1,700 elk in one field in Eastern Washington yesterday.  My buddy calls them welfare elk as the state feeds them over there.

[Healthyself2]

That's why I don't normally comment on people who report that their stenting or bypass procedures went bad - why make them feel worse about it.

Once you have had a stent placed that goes bad, you are faced with another procedure either angio or CABG.  Once that steel has been placed in your artery or you have that CABG graft, you have lost the chance of every healing it, which few people believe can actually be done.

[ireneo]

I'm all for minimal intervention. That's one reason I don't do HRT for menopause but that's another subject. Also, hot flashes are not fatal. But when faced with a life and death situation, we all make the best decision we can at that moment. We normally wouldn't take a severely ill parent or spouse out of the hospital and say, "Let's try diet and exercise first." That probably puts up between the proverbial rock and a hard place. It sometimes gets down to trust and confidence in the doctor. Most often there is time to at least seek out a second opinion. I'm all for that. But each circumstance is different, what worked for you may be fatal for someone else. We all do the best we can.

[Healthyself2]

CABG surgery is an industry.  It's the life blood of many hospitals - One of the big things that the insurance companies will still pay for.  They need customers every day to keep the factory running.  It's tremendously overpracticed and a lot of the institutions doing it probably shouldn't be.

It's an easy sell for many people.  Their loved one is flat on his back, probably just had some cardiac event or they told him that he could drop dead at any time without the surgery.  They don't know anything about this stuff.  They just know that modern medicine is a miracle and if your pipe is plugged up the logical thing to do is call the plumber and get it unplugged.  The cardiologists get their crack at him with angioplasty, and if that doesn't work they refer them downstairs for the hardcore stuff.

Sure they probably listed the risk factors, but never really stressed how high the risk was of cognitive loss for a 74 year old.  Do you think that the patient and his family questioned closely the qualifications of who would be doing the surgery?  The same thing happend to my friends mother at one of the most respected facilities in America - St. Mary's hostpital in Rochester, Minnesota.   She suffered terribly for 6 months in nursing home before dying.  

There are reasonable alternatives to bypass surgery and even stenting.  A very moderate exercise program combined with aggressive lipid therapy will get most people out of the woods within a year.  There are some where CABG is the only answer, but too many times CABG or high risk of death are the only things offered the patient with the sales pitch.

[ireneo]

I have to say your outlook is a bit cynical and not at all encouraging to the poster. Another thought (I'm guessing from the poster's name and writing style) that the family is not even in this country.

With any procedure there is a risk. Even getting your teeth cleaned could result in an infection someplace in the body. Does that mean I'll never get my teeth cleaned again? Not likely. By law the doctors have to reveal all the possible risks involved in a surgical procedure, no matter how unlikely something may happen. With my catheter ablations, each time they read off the list and I had to sign. My surgery next week - I had to hear about all the things that "might" happen and sign. Once in a great while something bad does happen. It's a tragedy for the family and heartbreaking for the doctor. The majority of doctors are not nearly as callous as you make them out to be. I know because I've had to face many doctors in my lifetime.

[Healthyself2]

I'm sorry to hear about your father.  Bypass surgery is overpracticed by about 90% in this country.  They have everybody snowed that this is the best option including the insurance companies.

In your father's case they will score this as a success because he lived, even though many old people never get out ot a nursing home after CABG surgery.  Diminished cognitive ability is a major side effect, but I bet they never disclosed this to you as a risk factor before surgery.

Another thing that you might check out is who actually did the surgery.  The young inexeperienced doctors get their practice carving up old people.   You will probably find that your dad's surgeon was a rookie.

Unfortunately people believe in the the miracle of modern medical technology and don't study or ask the hard questions.  The first commandment of "do no harm" is not taken seriously.  It's just another $60,000.00 for 3 hours of work.

You were suckered by a culture that really believes they are doing the right thing, but are contaminated by money.

[mapaisansub]

thanks for your kind.