Heart bypass-father undergoing op. next week, anyone had experience of this-how ill will be be after?

[anastasia74]

I'm not sure exactly what to expect post-operation. I know he will be in intensive care for a week, but if all's well, after that, how will he be when he gets home. Anyone had experience of this recovery. Thanks

My FIL (62 years old) had triple heart bypass in 2007. He was up and about after a week but took things REALLY easily, such as coughing, lifting, walking etc for a good year. He is still weaker now than he was but he walks miles every week to keep fit.

It is different for everyone though, some people rally REALLY quickly after heart ops - amazingly so. I guess it is prob age dependent?

my dad had one a few yrs ago. he said the pain in his chest afterwards was immense, he was discharged after a week and had to take it very easy for a month. i think the worst aspect was his legs when they took some veins out to use in his chest.hope this helps. good luck for him

My dads 70 and is quite fit at the moment despite needed a bypass.

Thanks wiliepedia and I hate the cold.

your welcome , i hope he makes aspeedy recovery. if you see him just after his op it can be a bit of a shock. but he will know your there.

FIL had quadruple bypass and valve replacement in 2004. He was discharged by his surgeon after two months and followed up by local hospital.
He was in intensive care for about four days, and in hospital about two weeks in total.
Was fit beforehand and well enough to travel to our wedding 6months later. Back to cycling up to 50km a day within about same time.
He was very fit before the surgery though.

Oh, and he was 62 at the time.

Thanks for your experiences Hair widdler.

Please don't worry. My dad had a quadruple bypass in december. It has been fantastic!!

I have to admit that seeing him on the day after the op was very shocking. He appeared very grey, shrivelled and old. He could hardly talk and seemed completely spaced out although sitting up. (They sit them in a chair from the very first day to get them up and about.)

But from day 2 onwards he started to look pinker and be more alert. He had a very sore throat from all the tubes and his other main area of pain was in his leg (where they removed the veins). He had to wear surgical stockings for quite a while and needed help to cope with these.

They released him from hospital on the 4th day!! This was a big shock to my mum as we'd been told to expect a week in hospital and she was really worried that she couldn't look after him properly. But he could manage the stairs, loo etc and was fine.

Since then his recovery has been drastic. He was supposed to have physio after 6 weeks but declined it as he was already walking more than a mile a day. Now 6 months on he is far better than before the op, has rejoined his walking club and spends his days gardening. His only problem is the leg which still gets very tired and will probably never be completely 'normal'.

Good luck to your dad and you - it is a scary prospect but it is a very safe and effective operation. I'm sure you'll be delighted with the results.

Sorry thats hairtwiddler.

My dad's 78.

Thanks Slambang. thats very reasuring to hear.