re: Heart bypass surgery experiences?

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i'll keep quiet on my experience with my dad. best of luck.

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Same here.

I'm 46 and just had a double bypass and mitral valve replacement this past November. I had mine done at Grandview Medical Center in Birmingham.

A little backstory to give some context to my experience. I started getting sick towards the end of July, only symptom was shortness of breath, mostly at night when I'd lay down to go to sleep. Mid-August it got to the point I went to my regular doc. He said I had asthma. From mid-Aug to the end of October they changed my diagnosis to pneumonia I was in and out of his office almost weekly and made two trips to the emergency room. All the while my condition was getting steadily worse. The first Friday in November I finally saw a cardiologist and he immediately figured out I was in the final stages of congestive heart failure and had me admitted to the hospital. By this time I was so sick and weak (my heart was down to 20% effectiveness) all my major organs had already started shutting down. From what the doctors at the hospital told me, had I not checked in when I did I'd have been dead within a day or two.

Now if your dad is in this bad of a shape, there is a lot of danger with the surgery. My surgeon initially told me and my wife that due to my weakened state there was a high probability of me not making it through the surgery. However, if he's caught this in the early stages he should be fine.

Another thing his current condition will affect is his recovery. The better shape he's in now, the easier his recovery should be.

The first thing after his surgery is he has to make sure to follow his doctor's instructions to the letter. Basically he can't use his arms for just about anything involving more than 10 lbs. If he needs to shift in his bed or chair, he's got to learn to do it without using his arms. Also, make sure to get him a heart pillow to hold onto for the first few weeks. That pillow will be his best friend for a while.

Once he's home, he's still got to take it easy. The recovery can be excruciatingly slow but he's got to be patient. The sternum is one of the thickest bones in your body and it takes months to fully heal. His chest will hurt for months. but you've got to remember this surgery includes them not only cracking open his chest but also spreading out his ribs and literally removing his heart and then putting it back in. Getting over something like this takes a while.

Will he be on blood thinners afterwards? If it's called Warfarin (also called Coumadin) y'all are going to have to see that he gets his blood tested probably at least a couple times a week to start with then as they get his dosage dialed in less and less. I'm still having to get tested once a week. You'll have to find a doctor or local hospital that has a "Coumadin Clinic" that can do the blood test. Along with this, he will have to keep a strict diet because some foods can interfere with this medicine. Mainly he has to avoid green leafy vegetables or anything that's high in Vitamin K. And one final thing with this drug, if he's also prescribed a drug called Amiodarone, you've got to pay VERY close attention to his blood thickness levels. Amiodarone is a drug to regulate the heart rate. But it also interacts with Coumadin in that it amplifies the effects of Coumadin. If they have your dad on too high of a dose of of either, especially right after his surgery, it can thin his blood too much and have fatal consequences. Basically what happens is if the blood gets too thin it will leak from the sutures in the heart. This blood will collect in the membrane that surrounds the heart, squeezing the heart more and more as it fills up. Eventually it becomes impossible for the heart to beat and it stops. This happened to me 7 days after my open-heart surgery. I coded and had to be revived then had to have a second emergency heart surgery because of it.

Sorry this went long. Hope and pray for a full and smooth recovery for your dad.

Hey 337. Do you have an email acct you would post. Not trying to creep you out. But I could give you more info that way

My Dad lived 20 years after by pass surgery. Hope the same or longer for your Dad.

They have some really good RN's in the ICU there. Ask questions they will help you out.

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Thanks for all the replies y'all!

I guess it's very serious as they scheduled his surgery for 7AM tomorrow morning. I just texted my sister to find out who the doctor is

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Hope it goes well. One other thing you need to be ready for is his emotional state after the surgery. There's a good chance initially after surgery he will either be super happy, upbeat, and loving or he will possibly be the exact opposite to the point of being mean. This happens to a lot of heart surgery patients, especially men. It happened to me, thankfully I went the happy upbeat rout. Why this happens or why some go one way or the other, I have no idea. Also, it's not uncommon a week or two later for men to fall into a depression. I also went through this. Just be patient with him while he works though whatever he faces after his surgery.

Thanks Darth. We are all driving in tomorrow so hopefully he will be happy.

They said that 3 of his arteries are completely clogged. His surgeon also said that there's a small chance (5%) that something can go wrong. Hopefully that's true and I'll take those chances.

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Thanks Darth. We are all driving in tomorrow so hopefully he will be happy.

They said that 3 of his arteries are completely clogged. His surgeon also said that there's a small chance (5%) that something can go wrong. Hopefully that's true and I'll take those chances

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No problem. Sounds like they've caught your dad in time that he should be fine. How old is he BTW?

Going through this experience myself has given my a kindred spirit to the others who have gone through it, including their families. While I was in the hospital recovering from my surgeries my wife and I became good friends with a lady who's dad was in the room next to mine. I know it's not only hard on us patients, but it's as hard or harder on family as well. My poor wife went through hell during my month in the hospital. Between staying with me, taking care of our two kids, trying to keep our house in order, not to mention the hospital was over an hour away from our house. Then there was the emotional roller coaster of first hearing I was on death's doorstep and needing open heart surgery but there was a good chance I'd not survive to seeing me make it through surgery and appear to be making a rapid recovery only to then be in the room to see my basically die seven days later. They hurried her out of the room while they were still working on me. It was not until my second surgery was done three hours that she knew if I was alive or dead. The strength she's shown though this is nothing short of amazing. If the roles were reversed, I know I'd not be able to show the strength she's shown.

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The biggest issue for him was them pulling the tube out of his chest. He said it almost killed him.

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Oh hell that sucks when they pull the tubes out. Not only does it hurt like hell, it just feels downright strange. IT's almost like they're pulling your intestines out or something. It's one of the most unpleasant feelings you'll ever have.

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ETA: the worst part for him was the chest tubes. He had fits with them.

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I didn't really have any issues with them while they were still in. It was taking them out that was such a horrible experience. Looking at my scars it looks like I had a total of six of them.