Nicholas Consoli
Basic Nutrition
April 17, 2012
Course Project
My grandfather, Richard Consoli, a retired New York City Firefighter, had triple bypass
surgery 5 years ago. Triple bypass surgery is needed when a person has clogged coronary
arteries, also known as coronary heart disease. This condition can be treated by medication, but if
severe, meaning the arteries are completely clogged, surgery is needed. This very serious open
heart surgery procedure includes taking blood vessels from another area of the body (typically
the leg, which is what they did for my grandfather) and is grafted onto the existing heart vessel
before and after blockage, creating a “detour” for the blood to pass through the heart. The name
for these bypass surgeries comes from how many vessels are blocked and needed to be bypassed.
In my grandfather’s situation, three vessels were clogged, resulting in him needing three grafts to
be surgically done, referring to the surgery as a triple bypass.
It all started when my grandfather started feeling tightness in his chest for a week. Not
too sure what it could be, he went to his doctor who then suggested he needed the surgery. My
grandfather was told that these conditions were linked from a high fat diet, age, and possibly
hereditary. After discussing the pros and cons of the surgery with his doctor, they finally decided
to schedule the surgery as they felt medication would not help for my grandfather’s situation.
Preparing for the surgery, my grandfather was to fast 24 hours before the surgery, and also had to
go through tests such as an ECG, chest X-rays, and blood and urine samples. The surgery went
smoothly, and in the hospital they inserted breathing tubes, draining tubes to drain the buildup of
fluids or blood, a catheter was inserted in his neck to monitor is heart and pressure, and an IV
which kept him hydrated and gave him pain-relief drugs.
My grandfather was surprisingly out of the hospital within a few days able to walk.
Although he was not fully recovered from his surgery, he was happy to be home where he can go
about his business safely but freely, enjoying the company from my family and I. He was given
medication for the pain and had to practice breathing exercises. The doctors told him he needed
to change his diet to low fat, low sodium, lean meats, low fat dairy products and low sugar. He
was also told to eliminate snack foods and also consume whole foods rather than processed,
while watching his cholesterol level. My grandfather always eats fresh fruits, which was also
recommended, but needed to incorporate more vegetables and juices in his diet. He says
changing his diet was probably the hardest part as we come from a large Italian family, eating
multiple courses of varieties of foods and consuming wine at dinner.
A few weeks later he was feeling much better, with little or no pain and his scars on his
chest and leg were healing well. My grandfather had to then start Physical Therapy, where he
was given light exercises to do for 25 minutes a day, and over time progressed to about 45
minutes a day. After attending Physical Therapy for a couple weeks, my grandfather was able to
continue these exercises on his own time. My grandfather has also maintained his diet change to
this day, although sometimes he likes to treat himself with certain foods. My grandfather is
happy with his new lifestyle, exercising and eating healthy on a daily basis, feeling healthy and
also looking very healthy for an 80 year old man.
An article which I found while searching the internet caught my attention called “Robotic
Heart Surgery – a status report”. This article is about an evaluation being done on robotically
assisted coronary artery bypass surgery. It states that “one year after having the robotic bypass
performed, all 19 patients included in the study remained free of complications and of angina
(chest pain or discomfort)”. Robotically-assisted heart surgery is used to make open heart
surgery a minimally invasive surgery. Minimally invasive surgery is done by passing an
endoscope (small tube with camera) through a tiny incision. Surgical instruments are passed
through the endoscope tube to complete the operation. Moving these surgical instruments can be
difficult as the length of the instruments are longer than normal, which can cause hand tremors.
“Robotically-assisted endoscopic heart surgery is aimed at making endoscopic heart
operations feasible.” Using this technology, the surgeon will manipulate the surgical instruments
through the help of the computer. When the endoscope is inserted through the tiny incision, the
image will be viewed on a computer screen, which the surgeon will then manipulate them by a
computer console, almost like a video game. The computer will then interpret the surgeon’s hand
movements, causing the surgical instruments to respond accordingly.
An advantage of the robotic heart surgery is said to be that the incisions are made very
tiny, making recovery from the surgery extremely quick. “Rapid recovery from cardiac surgery
is not only better for the patient, but it is less expensive for society”. Disadvantages of the
robotic heart surgery are that the technology is new and is still evolving. Its efficacy and safety
have not been proven sufficiently to allow the FDA to approve it for widespread use. Another
disadvantage is that this equipment is very expensive, costing between $750,000 and $1,000,000,
making it unlikely for most hospitals to be able to afford such equipment.