Failed graphs

[bomorn]

In May I had a triple bypass around the bification of the LAD form the circumflex. I became symptomatic for anouther occlution and had a Angiogram done . I have all three Graphs 100 % occluded . 2 are venous graphs and one is Arteriol . Has any one any experiance with such fast occuring occutions and what the statistics may be ? I am a RN with a lot of experiance but not in cardiac.

[kenkeith]

National Health Service (NHS):

The most recently available data shows that:

•66% of people will survive for one year after receiving a heart-lung transplant,
•63% of people will survive for two years after receiving a heart-lung transplant,
•47% of people will survive for five years after receiving a heart-lung transplant, and
•34% of people will survive for ten years after receiving a heart-lung transplant.

[erijon]

Wow, I can't imagine what I would think if I was given an option like that. We go to doctors to get solutions to our problems, to be told to wait it out must have been a real shock. Glad you had other options.

Jon

[ed34]

" Doesn't make sense for your doctor to say take medication, and we will see on how long you last.:) Hope you didn't take that as a serious remark!"

Of course I took it seriously, in fact I found it quite upsetting. It came from a renown cardiac surgeon after I had asked the statistics on heart transplant success. He couldn't tell me how long a transplant would last, and he couldn't tell me how much longer this one would last, yet I was expected to make a decision on that. I refused that option. It had already been determined by him that a redo-cabg would not work, and other Cardiologists told him angioplasty was out of the question. He thought about maybe an open endarterectomy, but changed his mind and then came out with the only option stated above. I think he was hoping it would last long enough for new techniques to unfold.

[kenkeith]

"One was a re-attempt at a bypass. Another was to remain on medication and see how long I survive. Another was to go on a transplant list".

>>>> Doesn't make sense for your doctor to say take medication, and we will see on how long you last.:) Hope you didn't take that as a serious remark! Six year's ago it was stated I needed a heart transplant...with medication my heart has returned to normal size and pumping normally.  At the time I was in heart failure mode from a silent heart attack and severe mitral valve regurgitation.

Quote, Cardiovascular Journal: "A cohort of 610 well-characterized patients undergoing coronary artery bypass grafting were followed through the first postoperative year. Graft patency was angiographically assessed in 578 (94.8%) of the patients on average 12.1 (SD 1.5) months postoperatively and was related to characteristics of grafts and patients. For internal mammary artery grafts the incidence of graft occlusion was higher in women than in men and was inversely related to body surface area. In multivariate analysis the influence of gender was no longer significant when adjusted for body surface area. With vein grafts the incidence of occlusion was inversely related to body surface area and was positively associated with ejection fraction.

>>>>Occlusion of vein grafts was less common in patients treated with beta-blockers pre-and post-operatively".

Is this the information you are seeking?  Hope this helps and if you have any further questions you are welcome to respond.

[ed34]

I was exactly in the same position in 2007. I had a triple bypass due to a large occlusion in my LAD at the same location as yours, and the rest of my LAD had a significant coating of plaque too. My veins lasted just three months, but the Lima Artery was still fully open, however, the surgeon had grafted it directly onto the blockage making it useless.
After a 2 year search, I managed to find a cardiologist willing to remove the blockage using angioplasty. The Cardiologist worked at a training/research hospital which is where the best ones seem to reside. He successfully removed the blockage, and then cleaned three quarters of the length of the LAD using 5 long stents in total. In the two years of searching, I spoke with numerous cardiologists at various hospitals and was offered different options. One was a re-attempt at a bypass. Another was to remain on medication and see how long I survive. Another was to go on a transplant list.  All those cardiologists told me that removing the blockage was impossible because it was 2.5cm long and on a curve. How wrong they were.The Cardiologist who did the procedure for me was the guy who inserted the very first stent in the UK and did the first stenting of a carotid artery here too. He has many years experience. Going to many cardiologists made me realise that a lot of of decisions are based on their own experience and confidence, not necessarily what you would prefer to have done.