Husband needing bypass surgery update

[SJX130]

Firstly can I say an absolutely massive thank you for all your replies on my original post. What a lovely, warm and supportive community. It helped me more than you will know to feel less alone in this.

My husband is still awaiting his surgery. He is scheduled to go to a different hospital today for an MRI and CT scan of some kind that the surgeons need. Then will be brought back to wait for his bypass which we hope will be soon.

We saw the cardiac rehab nurse yesterday who went thru his angio and ultra sound results as well as all his other test results . He has some complications with the surgery planned as his lungs are still recovering from the pneumonia and his left ventricular function is only 20%. This means the recovery is likely to be a bit longer. Whether the left ventricle and lungs will improve or resolve after surgery we will have to wait and see 🙏.

I just wanted to update and say a huge thank you for the reassurances and replies. It made everything just a little easier to cope with xx

[Blackcatsooty]

waiting go in to hospital is the worst bit. I did wonder about your husbands pneumonia. Good to learn that it is being monitored until he is fit enough for the heart op. My surgeons wanted exact pre op info such as the tests and scans. Which is pretty logical. No good starting the op then deciding things are not right.

What I found was that, with my heart working better, then my body could fight off other problems a lot better.

Best wishes

Sooty

[Chappychap]

Your husband will have to pass a lung capacity/breathing test before surgery. The reason is that our lungs take quite a beating during open heart surgery and the doctors need to be assured that they're strong enough to stage a full recovery.

When the chest cavity is opened the lungs collapse (lungs have no internal supporting structure), and they remain collapsed for the full five or six hours of the operation (our blood is artificially oxygenated and pumped by a heart/lung machine). Reflating all the tiny micro pockets of collapse in the lungs takes quite a few weeks and requires a lot of walking and breathing exercises.

These are an absolutely critical part of our recovery, and even though they can be pretty uncomfortable they must be completed.

Some of the links I sent in your previous post gives the NHS guidelines for all this. It's well worth being prepared in advance because this is a critical part of the process that isn't always sufficiently emphasised by the hospital staff.

Good luck!

[Hidden]

Hello

I am glad the replies to your last post helped

It makes sense to be honest what they have said about his lungs due to the pneumonia

His recovery because of this may take longer but as long as the end result is positive that is all that matters and I am sure it will be as I said he is in the best hands he could be they know what they are doing

I look forward to seeing a post eventually when you are telling us he has had it done and now recovering hopefully it will not be to long x