Three Weeks After Bypass Surgery

Today, Monday, January 3, 2011 - 21 days from open heart surgery - quintuple bypass. My goal has always been to try to keep an accurate account of my physical, mental, & spiritual feelings and this life changing experience! Today I will focus with the Physical healing.

After 21 days, I am amazed how quickly the incisions & pain have progressed. The incisions for the grafts are healing quickly. Remember what I had removed:

During bypass surgery, the doctor takes a vein or artery from another part of your body and uses it to create a detour (or graft) around the blocked area in your artery.

• Your doctor may use a vein, called the saphenous vein, in your leg. To reach this vein, a surgical cut will be made along the inside of your leg, between your ankle(mine was about an inch below my knee to the groin) and the groin. One end of the graft will be sewn to your coronary artery. The other end will be sewn to an opening made in your aorta.
• A blood vessel in your chest, called the internal mammary artery (IMA), can also be used as the graft. One end of this artery is already connected to your aorta. The other end is attached to your coronary artery.
• Other arteries are also being used for grafts in bypass surgery. The most common one is the radial artery in your wrist.(mine was from my left arm)
• http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/article/002946.htm

The only issue I am having is in my right leg, on the left side of my lower shin. There is, at times, a burning feeling & numbness in this area.

The "holes" in my stomach, chest & neck for all the tubes are doing well. Remember, I had a least 5-6 tubes & lines for many reasons for surgery & after surgery. All these incisions have healed well!

The "zipper" in my chest is also looking great & there is not much in the way of pain, put a little numbness.

Walking & steps are going great. I'm trying to walk three times a day, for 10 minutes at a time. Hills are an issue, but each day I feel a little stronger. I do not want to push too much till my first cardiac rehab session on Thursday & see how much they push me! Getting around the house & small chores, dishes, laundry, etc. are going well(my wife Sue loves this!).

Sleeping seems to be getting better. This was one of my most frustrating issues. I have been getting only about 4 hours a day. But last night may have been a break through - I slept from 1 AM till 6 AM straight through! One of the problems is sleeping the entire night on my back. I could get to sleep on my back, but in the old days I would change to my side & stomach. Until I heal, I am not able to sleep on my side or stomach. I hope this week to continue to improve.

I am still not allowed to drive. Maybe next week I will take my first spin. The game plan for driving a car is 4 weeks after surgery. I will ask rehab this week what they think.

So, after three weeks the physical healing is going well. Of course, I am trying to me the "model" patient and listen to my care givers! This is not easy with my hyperactive personality!