Triple Heart Bypass

[theluckiest]

Found out today that my dear dad is on the list for a triple bypass. It will be sometime in the next 3 months.

He's had 2 stents before so is pretty up to speed with the procedure he's going to have this time...it does sounds brutal though! He's having grafts from veins in his legs to his heart & he's prepared to feel very battered & bruised afterwards.

He will be in intensive care for a few days then on a ward until he's discharged. He's 66 and not the fittest person really so I am a bit worried but he sounded very positive when I spoke to him earlier.

Obviously I'd like to help him however I can. Anyone have good suggestions for anything I can do or take to him when he's in hospital? I know he can't drive for minimum 6 weeks so I am prepared for ferrying duty! My workplace is only 10 mins from the hospital so I'll be able to pop in regularly.

Thanks!

Anyone had this procedure or know someone who has?

My boss had a triple heart bypass around 10 years ago, when he would’ve been 60, he then had a pacemaker fitted 5 years ago.

He still works over 70 hours a week, running an engineering business.

I’m afraid I know nothing about the procedure and he’s the only person I know that’s had this procedure, but thought I’d share the fact that for my boss it was very successful and very positive.

DH is due for a double bypass. We have one of the pre med meetings on Friday so I’ll know more after that.

My father had a double bypass last year. He was very weak for the first two weeks and stayed with me to recover. He is usually a ball of energy and after the op when he came home he was just sitting on the sofa and I had to cook all his meals and he needed regular naps. But after the 6 weeks he was well up and about and he was back golfing etc after 3 months. He is fully well now and is back to driving us all mad with his inability to rest.
Some tips: the scar on the chest will frighten him because it seems like he will rip open if he coughs. They make you do deep breaths to inflate your chest again after the op. A cushion to hold on his chest if he coughs helps and to protect his chest from the seatbelt when in the car.
Watch his colour, my father started to look grey and I told him to say it to his doctor. She dismissed my concerns but got his bloods checked to find out they were v low and he needed iron tablets.
Bio oil for the scars on the leg and chest is good. It looks very sore and scary because it goes from the ankle bone to above the knee and from the belly button to the bottom of the neck. But it heals really well. My father did find the healing itchy so the bio oil helped.
I put a plastic garden chair in my shower in case he got weak after showering. He never used it but it was a tip I read.
Hope this helps.

Thanks for the messages both.

@UrsulaPandress best of luck to you & your DH. Has he had any procedures before? Dad's had a couple of stents and is on medication for angina attacks. It sounds like he'll feel much better after the surgery in the long run (although might feel pretty knocked about straight after!!) He had his pre consultation yesterday & was there for 3 hours talking to various specialists!! Hope all goes well

DH had a pacemaker as his heartbeat was so slow. Which then resulted in chest pains revealing he had hardening of the arteries. A friend who is a nurse says they should have gone the angiogram before the pacemaker but hey ho.

Lots of letters for lots of appointments some of which have turned out to be unnecessary. Left hand and right hand not communicating.

A friend tells me that must people have two cancellations before the op. Her DH was shaved and on his way to theatre when he had his second cancellation.

But DH was told at his last pointless appointment that his condition is serious so hopefully he won’t be cancelled.

Yes I'm expecting cancellations too @UrsulaPandress. I've heard that's very common. The waiting and limbo before you get the green light sounds very frustrating.

Brilliant tips @Witch25. Thank you. Was your Dad in hospital for long after the op? He sounds very like my Dad - always on the go and absolutely rubbish at taking it easy!! I've reminded him that this is the perfect opportunity to read all day (he is a huge bookworm) and catch up on lots of box sets...Game of Thrones & Peaky Blinders should keep him busy for a bit

He was in intensive care for two nights and then on the step down ward for 5 nights. He had the op on Friday evening (emergency op) and I brought him home the following Saturday but they would have discharged him on the Friday but the Saturday was more suitable for us.

Also depression can be common in post heart op patients. I think it is because of the fact you really have to face your mortality head on and revevaluate your life style choices are the op. My dad was fine but I did read he could be weepy etc and to look out for it.

Thanks again @Witch25. Dad has suffered from depression before so I'll keep an eye on that. I think 'clipping his wings' while he recuperates will be very difficult for him as he hates being stuck & unable to do things. He's normally racing around like a loon...

How did the pre-op meeting go @UrsulaPandress? How's your DH?