Uncle Larry Modlin Has Bypass Surgery

Uncle Larry Modlin had quadruple bypass surgery on January 7th. He is doing well, however, and should be home by now. Bypass surgery isn’t easy, and it isn’t fun, so wish him well.

Just in case you need it, here’s a refresher on bypass operations:

Coronary artery bypass surgery, also coronary artery bypass graft surgery, and colloquially heart bypass or bypass surgery is a surgical procedure performed to relieve angina and reduce the risk of death from coronary artery disease. Arteries or veins from elsewhere in the patient's body are grafted to the coronary arteries to bypass atherosclerotic narrowings and improve the blood supply to the coronary circulation supplying the myocardium (heart muscle). This surgery is usually performed with the heart stopped, necessitating the usage of cardiopulmonary bypass.

The terms single bypass, double bypass, triple bypass, quadruple bypass and quintuple bypass refer to the number of coronary arteries bypassed in the procedure.

A quadruple bypass means four vessels are bypassed.

A greater number of bypasses does not imply a person is "sicker," nor does a lesser number imply a person is "healthier."


Here’s the Wikipedia article in case you want to read up. And I’m sure Uncle Larry could tell you all about it. So could Joe Cook—with his quintuple (5), or was it sextuple (6), bypass a few years ago? Be careful mentioning SEX-tuple though, 'cuz he might get excited.

Get healthy, Uncle Larry, so you can come to Santa Barbara for another visit!