triple bypass surgery, doctors silent?

Question

my stepfather went to the hospital and they said he needed triple bypass surgery. then they said he wouldnt make it if they did it and sent him to a better hospital. hes been there for 6 days and no one is telling us whats going on. they wont even say if they will do the surgery or not. tonight they took off all his ivs and meds. are they preparing him for surgery by taking him off blood thinners and stuff or are they saying go home and live as long as you can?

we have a very close family with mostly women, no secrets in our family and my stepfather has always been co mpletely dependant on my mom so i believe if they said anything we would all know..we are trying to prepare for whatever is going to happen

they said at first it would be done in a week now i dont know. he is 42, quit smoking 10 yrs ago, he is active but overweight

they can not give you a life saving surgery for financial reasons?

50% of his heart is dead, so i dont think they would try lifestyle changes at this point but maybe im not a doc

its confusing, one day hes having surgery the next not bc hell die, the next hospital says oh hell be fine after the surgery, the next day nothing, the next day everything off and no word about it, why do the doctors do this?

Answer 1

You are from which country? Have they done any angiogram test or stress thalliumtest? What is the ejection factor? If the ejection factor is too less, the doctors may not do the bypass. If the blockages are many, how many bypass the will do? There are good medicines in Indian ayurveda. Capsules such as Rudved or Cardoved or Suved are supposed to clear the blockage without any surgery. Check in google search engine for details. In Bangalore there is Narayani Hridayala. You ca cosnult them online for guidance.

Answer 2

I have had a Mitral Valve replacement 4 years ago. I was on a waiting list for a couple of years and have had hart problems for 43 years.
Blood thinners stop the blood from coagulating the first part of the triple bypass is to cut his breast bone. If his blood did not clot they would have him cut open and be unable to continue with the surgery. You would be surprised how often it happens and the out come for people who's blood does not clot can involve lots of hospital visits and unhappiness. So it is vital to stop all blood thinning medication, ask the chemist about every cream and drop and tablet because a short stay is the only way to ensure a good outcome.
If they were sending him home to die they would not stop his blood thinning medication. I got a letter in the mail saying I was booked in in the next 2 weeks and should be waiting for the call. The availability of beds and life support machines means that there is no point keeping someone in hospital and waiting for them to come off the blood thinners. No surgery can take place while he is on blood thinners so his long term survival just like everyone who has open hart surgery involves a bit of Russian Roulette. Wait for the call and all the best

Answer 3

I'm sorry you have been going through this.. but if he's been in the hospital for 6 days already, it's most likely because he's not stable enough to go home and just come in the day of his surgery. Depending on what meds. he was on (which blood thinners?), they may be delaying his surgery to give them time to wear off. If he was on Plavix (aka clopidogrel), it's best to discontinue it as early as possible once you decide to have cardiac surgery. This will help prevent post-op bleeding. Heparin (prevents clotting) and aspirin should also be discontinued before surgery, but they wear off quicker so it's not as important to discontinue it a week in advance. He's quite young. Does he have a strong family history of heart disease or does he use drugs? I don't think his heart is 50% Dead.. if so, his life would be in serious danger. Maybe his coronary arteries are so bad that 50% of the heart isn't getting supplied by blood, or maybe they meant his ejection fraction is 50% (his heart ejects 50% of what it should). They should not have turned off the IV's becuase he needs electrolytes. If they did, I have no explanation for that. I hope this helps!

Answer 4

Hmm.

What's his age ? Fitness level ? Other problems ?

Perhaps he has brittle arteries, or there is some other reason they could not operate.

When I was told I needed a triple bypass, they did it the next day. I was youngish, 54, and in good physical condition.

Perhaps he can not afford it ? Blue Cross paid my hospital about $30,000 for 9 days in the hospital, an angiogram, and the surgery.

Its also possible it is not critical at this time, and he wants to try lifestyle changes instead. I was getting some pretty monsterous bouts of angina, and I had two arteries 99% blocked. I was risking losing 40%, or 80%, of my heart muscle if I chose to put it off, if I had survived a massive heart attack.
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Its possible he had time to think it over,and his angina was not so serious, nor the blockages. Maybe he is betting on himself, rather than the doctors. If he gets worse, he may go back and have the surgery.
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Depends. If he checked in for evaluation, and it is not an emergency, then no.

An HMO may have turned it down because the blockages were not so severe he could not improve with diet and exercise.

In my case, three weeks before my doctor had diagnosed my angina as anxiety. If I had died, my wife would have sued them and won easily. I walked into ER with unstable angina, but they were surprised I could.
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There you go. With 50% of it gone, there is likely no expected benefit.

Answer 5

difficult situation, I'm sorry for what you're going thru. I'm assuming your mom is still alive? If she is, she is 'next of kin' and should be the 'speaker' for the family with her husband's consent. She is the one that needs to find out what's going on, cause with laws, they may not be able to speak to all family members. She could ask to speak to the main doc, or ask the nurse for a social worker consult. Sometimes, there are factors that do prevent surgeons from during surgery, if the kidneys are bad, or lungs are bad, fixing the heart is not going to help too much, and surgery could put alot of stress on the already compromised organs. So, your mom needs to find out, she's the one that should be doing the talking. If she is not longer alive, the next 'natural' child should do so. Good luck

Answer 6

My mom had a quadruple bypass and I know when they prepared her for surgery, they DID NOT remove her i.v.'s because those are NEEDED for surgery. We demanded information from the doctors about her conditions. If your stepdad honestly doesn't know what is going on, then you need to step up and talk to the doctors...don't take no for a reply, after all he is your loved one. On the other hand, if he does know and just isn't telling you...Well then, you need to have a heart to heart with him and let him know you want to know the truth. I wish you and your family the best of luck and will say a prayer for your stepdad's speedy recovery.

Answer 7

I had a quadruple bypass at age 34 in '03 and they waited a week before doing the surgery so my heart could regain strength,i was overweight and a smoker is what caused mine,according to my surgeon i have had several heart attacks and wasn't aware of it,he said i had ALOT of scar tissue all over my heart and thats why they waited to do surgery.at the time of the heart attack my heart was only pumping at 35% very weak.

Answer 8

Does your step father know what is going on? Has he asked for privacy from the doctors (to not talk to your family?) Does his wife know? Legally, most information is just for patient & spouse. Can you go to the hospital and talk quietly & calmly with him? Sounds like it might be a bit complicated here and perhaps your stepdad wants to protect you...

Answer 9

Usually when the IV drugs and meds are discontinued, they are settling in for pallitive care (hospice). Maybe you should as your step dad what is going on and if he is not able to answer, find out who is in charge of making his decisions and ask.

Answer 10

What does your mother have to say in all this? Demand answers!!!