Successful OHS for my 80 yr. old Dad!!

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sdw51

New member
Joined
Jun 1, 2012
Messages
3
Location
AL
Hi All,

I have been lurking around this forum for a while and decided to post. My dad just went through a successful OHS on June 28th at UAB. I wanted to share his experience in hopes it might give hope to others in similar situations. Many of you have helped me in your postings, especially on the surgeon we decided on for his OHS.

In April, my dad started having a couple of dizzy spells when walking up the stairs at his fitness center. Also, he had complained some of shortness of breath in the past year, though not often. Shortly after his first dizzy spell, he decided to have an arteriogram, even though I thought it was not necessary and even told him. It seemed like an overreaction to me, but little did I know. He must have had a gut feeling something was not right. I am so glad he did not listen to me!! Much to my family's surprise, my dad was advised he needed a double bypass to replace two of the four blockages in his heart, following his arteriogram. We were stunned by the news of his blockages. He did not really have a history of cholesterol problems or high blood pressure that anyone had ever treated him for in the past or even mentioned that it was an issue, not even from his cardiologist. His blockages were positioned in such a way that stents would have killed him, we were told. The other two blockages were not constricted to the point of needing a bypass. The reason we were suprised by his blockages is that he has always been able to mow the grass with a push mower for hours outside in extreme heat, cut down tress for days in heat, etc... He is in excellent shape for his age and has a strong heart muscle. I think the strong heart muscle gave us a false sense fo security regarding his heart. His prior cardiologist said if anyone could do the labor he did, then nothing was wrong with his heart. Due to my dad not liking this cardiologist's bedside manner, he had recently switched to another cardiologist in the past year. I am so glad he did. The new cardiologist was quite open to the thought of his request of an arteriogram, even with his excellent results on the tread mill earlier in the year. Thankfully, the ateriogram was instrumental in saving his life, along with my dad's gut instinct.

My mom has congestive heart failure (most likely from a drug she took) and was able to get my Dad into see her cardiologist at Kirklin Clinic for a second opinion for a surgeon referral. We received the referral by his local cardiologist. It was suggested my dad see Dr. McGiffin, who we were told was one of the best surgeons in the Southeast. After researching and seeing him, we knew we definitely wanted Dr. McGiffin to perform his OHS.

We are very pleased with his surgical outcome. He did have a setback of swallowing and had to go on a feeding tube for three days, but had gone into the surgery with a pre existing problem of radiation to the head and neck that had caused some swallowing issues. Still, they told us others sometimes have swallowing issues, even without prior radiation. Once he received his feeding tube and had some proper nutrition, he was able to walk around the floor unit four times a day. By the end of the week he was walking without the walker and using stairs with no assistance. He is back home after a 10 day stay (extended only due to swallowing issues) and is staying up most of the day. He even paid all his bills the next day after getting home! Mind you, it has not yet been two weeks, so he is weak still, but overall he is doing great. He also has not had a lot of pain. He was even lowered to Tylenol even in the hospital. He said he was blessed and we feel blessed!!

I am thankful for this great forum. It is most helpful to patients and their families. I know it made me feel good about the physician we choose. I wish everyone the best in their health.
 
I just wanted to say that I am not totally sure my post is on target with this website, per se, as it seems to be specifically for valve replacements such as mitral valve and aortic. I know he had cornorary bypass due to blocked arteries, but can still give a good referral of his physician who I found great reports on through this very forum. So, thank you forum members.
 
I just wanted to say that I am not totally sure my post is on target with this website, per se, as it seems to be specifically for valve replacements such as mitral valve and aortic. I know he had cornorary bypass due to blocked arteries, but can still give a good referral of his physician who I found great reports on through this very forum. So, thank you forum members.

I feel that OHS is OHS. Maybe your post will help someone else going through the same situation. Blessings to you, your dad and your family.;)
 
Thank you for posting here about your Dad. A good lesson for us all...... listen to your instinct. If your 'gut' tells you there is something wrong, there probably is.

I had two OHS, one of which was valve replacement and one was double bypass. My bypass surgery was first and then my mitral valve went bad and I needed another surgery. I can tell you my recovery from the valve surgery was faster, easier and less painful than my surgery for the bypass. I knew the moment I awoke from my valve surgery that the 'train' had not hit me nearly as hard this second time. Anyone who brushes off bypass surgery as 'less than' valve surgery, would not get any support in that belief from me.

I had same surgeon at Mass General Hospital and same cardio. The only variable was the type of surgery.

Hope your Dad continues to do well.
 
Thank you all for the well wishes. He is doing pretty well. One day he seems fairly strong, then the next day he is more tired and feels weak. I assume that is to expected. An RN told him prior to his release to only take one nap a day and try and stay up the rest of the day, even if only sitting up and watching television. He is really not able to stay up all day with only one nap. He has to rest in the morning some, as well. After all, he is 80 years old, even if he was physically strong going into OHS. I hope it is okay if he rest longer than just a hour in the first six weeks. He is just two weeks out from surgery tomorrow. Also, he is now taking a lot of extra pills that he has never taken prevously such as three high blood pressure pills a day, a cholesterol pill, another heart pill, etc... He only took two maintenance drugs previously for reflux and prostate. I am hoping all the extra pills will not be harmful in any way.

Thanks again for the thoughtful comments. I wish all of you the best.
 
Yes, certainly, if he needs to rest he should. As you say, he is a senior and is only two weeks out from surgery. They try to suggest we limit naps in hopes of us getting back to a normal night sleep pattern but if he needs to rest during the day, it is extremely common though he should try to keep the naps relatively short.

Yes, the new medications certainly can be contributing to his lack of energy in addition to the healing his body is doing. He has had serious surgery and his body has much adjusting to do.

Let common sense rule..... an eighty year old gentleman, two weeks out of open heart surgery, should take rests as needed IMO
 
It took me many weeks before I had most of my strength back. Sounds like your dad is doing well.
 
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