Swollen leg

[gilreid1]

18 weeks since my triple bypass operation. My left leg where they took vein is till giving me trouble. The scar healed really well but my calf ankle and foot constantly swell even when I elevated leg when resting. Now wearing a compression sock but uncomfortable around the back of knee. Any idea how long this lasts or is there anything I can do

[Chappychap]

The normal advice from the NHS is that most people are able to return to work six weeks after being discharged from hospital if they have an office job, and eight to twelve weeks after discharge for a more manual job.

A lot of people (myself included) wrongly interpret this as meaning that you'll be fully recovered from a bypass operation within 12 weeks. Unfortunately this simply isn't the case. There are many people on this forum who took up to a year to make a full recovery. Yes, they may have been able to return to work or resume normal life much earlier, but a full recovery just takes time.

The good news is that for many people (again, myself included) the ultimate result of a bypass operation isn't just a full recovery in the sense of getting back to where you were before the operation, it's actually getting back to levels of health and vitality that you last had twenty years ago!

So the bottom line is, hang on in there, because I'm the end it really will be worth every scrap of the temporary discomfort you feel now!

Good luck!