Posted on 09/06/2004 8:31:29 PM PDT by ETERNAL WARMING
Clinton Has Successful Quadruple Bypass
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Sep 6, 5:49 PM (ET)
By SAM DOLNICK
(AP) Dr. Craig R. Smith, chief of the Division of Cardiothoracic surgery at the New... Full Image
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NEW YORK (AP) - Bill Clinton underwent a successful quadruple heart bypass operation Monday to relieve severely clogged arteries that doctors said put the former president at grave risk of suffering a heart attack.
Clinton is expected to make a full recovery, but doctors said he was fortunate to have checked himself into the hospital when he did. The heart disease they repaired was extensive, and blockage in several of Clinton's arteries was "well over 90 percent," said Dr. Craig R. Smith, the surgeon who led the operation.
"There was a substantial likelihood that he would have had a substantial heart attack" in the near future, said Dr. Allan Schwartz, chief of cardiology at New York Presbyterian Hospital/Columbia.
Smith said Clinton could leave the hospital in four or five days. Clinton was awake but sedated about four hours after the operation ended, Schwartz said. He still was using a breathing tube and had not spoken yet, he said.
(AP) President Clinton jogs in Washington in this Sept. 15, 1994 file photo. Clinton had a successful... Full Image
The four-hour surgery came three days after Clinton arrived at the hospital complaining of chest pain and shortness of breath. But doctors said Clinton's problems were not as sudden as had been portrayed. He had suffered shortness of breath and tightness in his chest for several months, but blamed them on off-and-on exercising and acid reflux, his doctors said.
In addition, the former president had high blood pressure and may have not been adequately treated for high cholesterol, they said.
In a statement, Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton and the couple's daughter, Chelsea, thanked the hospital staff for helping the family through an "emotional roller-coaster."
"The president's optimism and faith will carry him through the difficult weeks and months ahead," the statement said.
In bypass surgery, doctors remove one or more blood vessels from elsewhere in the body and attach them to arteries serving the heart, detouring blood around blockages.
(AP) Dr. Allan Schwartz, left, Chief of Division of Cardiology, Dr. Herbert Pardes, center, President... Full Image
The vessel typically comes from elsewhere in the chest, although doctors sometimes take one from an arm, a leg or the stomach.
"There was nothing in this case that was outside the realm of routine," Smith said.
Schwartz said it would be possible for Clinton in the future to lead an "extraordinarily active lifestyle" - including hitting the campaign trail.
"He is recovering normally at this point. Right now everything looks straightforward," Smith said.
Doctors decided not to operate immediately on Friday because Clinton was on the blood-thinning medication Plavix, and waiting a few days decreased the chance of excessive bleeding, they said.
(AP) Dr. Craig R. Smith, chief of the Division of Cardiothoracic surgery at the New... Full Image
Clinton was described as upbeat in the days before the surgery, resting with his wife and daughter. One New York Post photo showed the former president reaching for a Boggle game near his hospital-room window.
Clinton has blamed the blockage in part on genetics - there is a history of heart disease in his mother's family - but also said he "may have done some damage in those years when I was too careless about what I ate."
He was lampooned during his presidency for his inability to resist fatty fast food, but he was also an avid jogger during his two terms in the White House.
In recent months he has appeared much slimmer. He has said he cut out junk food, begun working out and adopted the low-carbohydrate, lowfat South Beach diet.
Clinton had planned to campaign for Sen. John Kerry, the Democratic nominee for president, but the recovery from surgery will take him off the stump with just two months left until the election.
(AP) Former President Bill Clinton speaks to delegates during the Democratic National Convention at the... Full Image
From his hospital room before the surgery, Clinton had a long telephone conversation with Kerry on campaign strategy, said a Democratic official familiar with the talk who spoke on condition of anonymity. Some polls have shown Kerry trailing President Bush since the Republican convention last week.
Meanwhile, more than 37,000 get-well wishes poured in for the former president, including tens of thousands of e-mails sent to the Web site of his presidential library.
"You are surrounded by cherished family, friends and a nation that adores you and prays for your full and complete recovery," wrote Toni Maryanna Rossi. "You'll be jogging 5 miles a day in no time."
...plus the ethical bypass he had at birth...
So the REPUBLICAN doctor did a good job.
(Note: No boos were heard at the time of this post).
Does that mean he's going to start carrying around that big Bible of his?
I firmly believe that Clinton needed this surgery, and I'm glad he came through it fine so far. BUT, I'm having trouble believing that it was just recently discovered that he needed the surgery, especially since U.S. Presidents have such extensive physicals. It's awfully convenient that he can't campaign for Kerry now......
Only if he can remember where he put it.
Thank God.
I wish him speedy recovery.
Removal of breathing tubes can be painful,maybe they will allow a student to assist.
Muhahahahahaha
Good, glad to hear he made it through alright, now I wish him a speedy recovery.
The timing of this is very suspicious.
Yep, I want him around long enough to see his destructive policies undone and his misdeeds fully exposed.
What's that mean... He got away with four lies in a row?
Me too, md. I'm praying for him.
Does that mean he's going to start carrying around that big Bible of his?
HHEHEE He'll have to find it first, and the dust...ACK.
It's Bush's fault.
I love Bill Clinton too. LOL!
Please advise re the heart thing. Your commentary last night was very informative.
Wishing him a complete recovery, and then a long rest, quietly, silently, and somewhere in Europe with his wife. :-)
May he stick around to run for First Lady in 2008.
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