What does a Triple Heart By-Pass operation involve?

Question

and what are the risks?

Answer 1

Bypass surgery is a major operation that usually lasts between two and six hours. Pre-operative medications are often administered by mouth, muscular or subcutaneous injection, or IV. You will receive general anesthesia and be completely asleep.
During bypass surgery, the chest bone is separated, and the ribs are spread apart to allow visible and physical access to the heart. In most instances, blood circulation and breathing functions will be taken over by a heart-lung machine. The cardiac surgeon uses a piece of vein or artery to form a bypass to enable blood to go around the blockage. Several blockages can be bypassed during surgery.
Grafts:
A graft is a blood vessel that has been created to bypass a blocked artery . It is usually taken from the internal mammary artery in the chest, the saphenous veins from the leg, or in rare instances from the radial artery in the arm. The graft is attached above and below the area in the artery where there is a blockage, so that the blood can use the new, unblocked path to flow freely to the heart.
From stress tests, angiograms and intravascular ultrasounds, your doctor is able to determine exactly how much of the heart structure needs repair. Some patients undergo double, triple or even quadruple bypasses, based on their specific needs.
Doctors have found that grafts are most successful when attached to major coronary arteries rather than smaller arterial branches. Doctors have also found better results for bypass surgery when there are discrete, localized blockages rather than a buildup of plaque throughout an artery.
In some cases, your blood circulation and breathing functions will be carried out by a heart-lung machine during surgery, also known as cardiopulmonary bypass. However, more coronary artery bypass surgeries are being done while the heart is still beating (called the off-pump technique). Doctors say the beating heart approach reduces the risk of neurologic injury, stroke and other complications associated with the heart-lung machine, and leads to a shorter hospital stay for patients.
As with any serious heart surgery, blood transfusions are necessary during bypass surgery. The blood used for your surgery will be matched by type and Rh factor, and provided by a local blood bank.
Unless your surgery is scheduled to be performed in less than 72 hours, and if your doctor gives you permission, arrangements can be made for banking your own blood for surgery. You also may have family or friends with a compatible blood type donate blood for your surgery. The hospital, the Red Cross or blood bank can provide family members and friends with necessary information about blood donation for your surgery.
A close family member had a quadruple by-pass,and was home in a week. He made a full recovery.

Answer 2

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Answer 3

Karen gave you accurate info on bypass surgery. I recently went through quadruple bypass, was on the heart lung machine and had the blood transfusions.
I would like to tell you that there are not choices on which way they do it, beating heart or heart lung machine. It is decided by your doctor, his experience and your condition. My brother was a candidate for the beating heart bypass surgery but only needed one bypass. I was not a candidate due to other issues and the need for 4 bypasses. I had a world class surgeon, who used a pain medication that was delivered though a cath tube into my chest, I was in very little pain. You also need to know that the beating heart surgery still involves opening your chest and spreading your ribs. Make sure that stints are not an option before you make your decision. Stints are metal mesh tubes placed into the blockage and expanded with a balloon to allow blood to flow again. They make a incision in your groin or under your arm and use a cath tube to get it into place. In and out the same day usually. Far better if you are a candidate for it. I have three. My heart disease is hereditary and can continue to cause problems regardless of what I do as far as diet and exercise. Hopefully I have seen the worst. God bless and good luck. Search www.heartinfo.org for your problems and you will learn far more than on here.

Answer 4

having three bypass grafts, known in the trade as a cabbage
(more correctly a cabg) The only risks are failure to come round after the operation, or as in my case bad legs, you are told to walk at least four miles per day after the op but I already had problem with my hips and walking was out... now 12 year after my quadruple op the good times seem to be coming to an end, but I still enjoy life and I let my legs go awry as they want to.................. Any amount of people will tell you there is little or no pain involved, in my case the only pain I had was when a nurse grabbed my ankle and pressed her thumb onto the very place where a clip had been placed on the end of the vein where they had taken out a length to perform with... that I felt. even when the clips up my legs were removed I felt nothing. So many times I had been told you will feel nothing I thought it was a big con, but no, it was true................... Go for it and enjoy the rest of your life

Answer 5

It is when three of the veins to the heart are blocked and they are stripped away and replaced, usually with a bit of vein from the leg. It is obviously a big op - when my dad had it, it was always done as open heart surgery - but i think it is often now done through a tiny opening in the groin and is much less invasive that way.

Any risks are not greater than the risk of living with a heart with 3 ventricals out of working order! I can only speak from my dads experience and it is most def the best thing that he could have done, but it was tough going for a while immediately afterwards.

Answer 6

Catherine's web sites are great.
Risk are as with all surgery are many, but it is a routinely preformed op, and it would not be recommended if your dr did not believe it is in your best interest! Not everyone is fit enough for such surgery, it is a quality of life issue, you will only get worse without it, can you live with that, if you wait too long you may not be fit enough for surgical intervention? Minimilise risk by stopping smoking if you do, watch your diet and exercise as recommended by your doctor.

Answer 7

A Friend of mine who now lives in Denmark had a triple bypass 15 years ago and is still fine ,go for it

Answer 8

Hi there, i dont know myself, but i found this site on the net, will add more in a mo, hope these will help..