First appointment

[Tiddles1959]

Hi all

Got my first face to face appointment with the surgeon tomorrow after my angiogram a month ago where I was told I had 3 arteries narrowing and would probably need a triple bypass thats all that has been said to me just wondering what to expect tomorrow will it be by pass or stents any help with questions that I might need to ask him would be appreciated as I have been told I have to go alone because of covid so am guessing am gonna forget half of whats said to me anyway

Many thanks

Stay well all

[Nathan53]

Hi There

My suggestion would be to ask about options as in Bypass v stents v medication and the pros and cons. Take a notepad with your questions and make some brief notes. Say you are prone to muddle what has been said (most of us do) and ask for written summary to be sent to you.

It's a big decision so be clear you want the facts but backed up not just you need a bypass. Attached link might help you with question. Good luck med.stanford.edu/news/all-n...

[Tiddles1959 in reply to Nathan53]

Thanks Nathan53

I certainly gonna ask that question hopefully bypass is the very last suggestion so I have a lot to consider the link was very interesting

Thanks again

[Healthyheart1 in reply to Nathan53]

Hi Nathan53, good luck with everything today. As Tiddles1959 says take the note book, everyone has problems remembering in an appointment, you will probably fix yourself on one thing the cardiologist says and then go blank. Regards Sheena

[MichaelJH Heart Star]

When I met my surgeon I was suffering fairly severe angina and breathlessness so the medication route had already ruled itself out. An angiogram and subsequent tests had also ruled out stents so the discussion was purely about the surgery itself.

The subsequent discussion included topics like on-pump vs off-pump, harvesting of donor vessels (PAD meant my legs were a no go area), management of my diabetes during surgery (it ultimately lasted eight hours), etc. I came away quite reassured.

[Hidden in reply to MichaelJH]

Hi Tiddles. I was in same boat as Micheal (I was told while they were actually doing my angiogram I would need surgery). As well as what's been said above I found it useful to ask about time frames, what sort of exercise (if any) I should be doing, any other sort of preparations I could do for the surgery (eg they asked me to lose some weight). I took someone along with me so that between the two of us we captured all the information.

[Prada47]

Hi Tiddles

After my Angiogram the Cardiologist came in the Ward and said

" You have 2 Narrowed and a Blocked Coronary Artery I think I can fix this with Stenting " He came back later and said I have had another look and you need Bypass Surgery, I will put you to the Surgeon with the shortest list !!!

So he had looked at the alternatives, when I saw the Surgeon he had a drawing of my Heart and showed me what he was going to do and which bits of Artery and Vein he was going to use. He did say " I don't think I can do anything with your RCA " which as it turned out he couldn't I still have a 100% blocked RCA.

So all I can offer is trust them they do this every day and do weigh up Risk v Reward very carefully before offering you Surgery over Stenting.

Hands Face Space to Stay Safe

[MountainGoat52 in reply to Prada47]

Risk vs Reward - aptly put. I had stents inserted at the time of my HA and was referred for surgery and got an appointment at Papworth a month later. As I was reasonably fit, the risk for me was virtually nil and it was a no-brainer to go for a triple bypass rather than have more and more stents. Apparently in the long term it was also better financially for the NHS.

[Telboi]

I thought Stents was what was going to happen and had angioplasty. When they took a look they said was not good solution and double bypass ensued a month later - it is all a blur - it was my 2 WEEK anniversary of CABG yesterday and am feeling really good, dragged through a hedge and tough but out the other side and smiling - if it happens you will be just fine matey - feel free to ask any questions and stay in touch.