Bypass Heart Surgery?

I have a family member who has to have a single bypass heart surgery. I was wondering if there any difference as far as a single bypass, double, triple, etc. Does it mean more complications?, or less. Also i have read that there is a very high risk of not making it out of surgery because of the fact that he smokes. Is there any more involved risks being that he's a smoker? Also what should i expect. Thanks.

Since your family member is having a single by-pass only one of his coronary arteries is blocked. Being a smoker leads to coronary artery disease but I don't think it will complicate the surgery however the recovery will be more difficult. After the surgery, we tend to get some fluid build-up in the chest cavity and the lungs. Some coughing is required to clear the lungs. I have had a triple bypass and I am still recovering. It can take 3 -6 months to recover from the surgery. The usual hospital stay is 5 - 6 days. The doctors will strongly suggest that the smoking stops. Good luck.

all the bypass is, is that they put him out and hook his circulation system up to a machine to run his heart until theyre done doing w/e it is they're doing to him. I've seen a bypass surgery to fix an aortic valve and he was just hooked up to the machine and basically didnt have a heart beat for an hour till they hooked it back up to his circulation system and they had to shock him to bring him back the smoking probably wont effect his surgery but he should stop because it's very bad for the lungs and can lead to so much stuff

single bypass is where one of the main arteries needs to be replaced. Smoking restricts the arteries and is not the cause. any surgery can have complications but he should NOT be a high risk surgery just because he smokes.
Expect full recovery and a long life providing he does what
his doctor tells him to do.

A single bypass means less work to be done, but the heart lung machine, the access to the heart remains the same. So those risk factors remains the same. You never know what is going to occur during surgery, the usually the surgeon will talk to the family before but certainly after the procedure to tell how it went. It sounds like this family member has not had a heart attack, if this is the case it is very very very good. This person needs to certainly have a change of diet, get some exercise and QUIT SMOKING at any cost. Sometimes major events like this in one's life has a major impact on bad health habits. I with your family member well and I will bet they do just fine.

My husband recently under went quadruple by-pass surgery, and yes he was a smoker. It was tough and a very long healing process. A single by-pass shouldn't be treated any differently than a quadruple. Each one is a life saving operation. Anytime they crack open your chest cavity, that's a serious operation. Just be there for them and the family. Most people that have this surgery actually feel better after the healing than they felt before in their lives

A single bypass means that they are removing another blood vessel to connect to one of the coronary arteries. The coronary arteries are what supply oxygen to the heart itself and are very important. I believe the complications with the actual surgery and smoking are with the sedation and the oxygen levels since his lungs are full of junk. The risk difference between one bypass or several has not been shown to differ. I would definatetly be very concerned about the smoking though. Nicotine causes vasoconstriction (constriction of the blood vessels) which in turn raises blood pressure which in turn damages the vessels causing them to become sticky, and then they get clogged. If he needs to have surgery for this clogging, especially if he is over 50 he really needs to stop smoking. If the clot was not caught before full blockage occured it would lead to a heart attack, one in the brain a stroke or in the lung and embolism. These are very serious circumstances! Please talk to the doctor for more imformation so that you can feel assured of the procedure.

Risk will vary with age, weight, present health situation, does he still smoke, and in what condition are his lungs.
The risk will of course increase with how many restrictions or blockages he has.
I wouldn't worry to much if the doctors are willing to do the surgery without too many reservations.
I smoked heavy for 41 years and quit about 30 years ago, also have been diagnosed with calcified asbestos in the lungs, last september I went through a quadruple by-pass, at age 79, the following day they had me walking around, with help of course, but walking. Three days after the surgery I was home.
Medicine today is fantastic.
You have to understand, when one goes through this surgery, you are in effect dead until it's over and they wake you up. A machine pumps your blood, another breathes for you and I have no idea what else goes on.
By the way, the surgeon that did mine, smoked before he had one, and today still smokes and eats chocolate like crazy.