He's 98 and going strong after a heart bypass surgery at 90

And this is how Chin delivers his 300 punches, an exercise he does three times a day with a water bottle in each hand! — Photos: IZZRAFIQ ALIAS/The Star

“I’ll be 98 in May, you know!” Chin Ngen Chong declares proudly, holding eight fingers up.

The nonagenarian is probably the oldest person in Malaysia to have undergone a triple vessel coronary artery bypass surgery (CABG) at the age of 90, back in 2015.

Almost eight years later, he is a picture of health and smiles broadly as he walks into the National Heart Centre (better known by its Malay acronym IJN) in Kuala Lumpur for his routine follow-up.

When this writer asks if he is tired after spending the morning being interviewed and photographed, he says: “Not really, but I am a bit hungry.”

IJN senior consultant cardiothoracic surgeon Dr Pau Kiew Kong chips in: “He is really a medical miracle who is surviving well after so many years!”

The Guinness World Records lists Armando Porcelli (born on October 9, 1914) as the oldest person to have triple bypass surgery performed on him in 2009 at the Sant Andrea Hospital, in Rome, Italy, at the age of 94 and 158 days.

It is not known how long he survived thereafter.

Our former prime minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad, who is the same age as Chin, has also undergone two bypass surgeries, although he was 64 when he had his first one.

He is also another marvel at his age.

Chin’s story began like this.

After his retirement from a bank, he slowed down and enjoyed the simple things in life: drinking coffee with friends, cycling daily to do marketing for his wife, watching English Premier League football on television (he supports Arsenal) and exercising.

His children – five girls and two boys – had little to worry because their parents were independent and capable of taking care of themselves.

Also a diehard badminton fan, Chin never missed watching a game, especially if it involved his favourite player – China’s now-retired golden boy, Lin Dan.

Watching his two favourite badminton players, Lee (facing camera) and Lin, during an exciting finals match proved too much for Chin one day, as he had a heart attack later that night. — Filepic

He can’t recall which match it was, but he was palpably excited during one final between Lin Dan and his other favourite player, Datuk Lee Chong Wei.

The game might have been too stressful for him as he started having chest pains that night.

Prior to that, except for being diagnosed with high blood pressure in his 40s, he was otherwise hale and hearty, and seldom needed to consult a specialist.

“We took him to a private hospital and the cardiologist confirmed he had suffered a heart attack.

"Due to his age, he advised us to take our father to IJN.

"There, we were told his arteries were too narrow and stents wouldn’t work, so he needed a bypass,” recalls daughter Dr Chin Choy Nyok, his fifth child.

While most people would have reservations about sending their parents in for surgery at that age, Dr Choy Nyok, who recently retired as a consultant paediatrician, took the news calmly.

The family agreed to the bypass suggestion.

Opening the heart

“I asked him (the patient): ‘Uncle, do you want to live?’ and he said yes.

"Then I told him he needed to do a bypass surgery.

"Despite his age and blocks, he was healthy and had no other issues, so although all surgeries come with risk factors, I was confident he would recover well,” says Dr Pau, who led the surgery.

CABG creates a new path for blood to flow around a blocked or partially blocked artery in the heart.

The open-heart surgery involves taking a healthy blood vessel from the chest or leg area.

The vessel is connected below the blocked heart artery to create a new pathway or “highway” to improve blood flow to the heart muscle.

If there are three blocked arteries, then three bypass vessels are necessary, as in Chin’s case.

Open-heart surgery requires opening the chest wall to make the heart easier for the surgeon to reach.

To access the heart, surgeons cut through the sternum (breastbone) and spread the ribs.

When they work on creating this pathway, the heart is stopped and the patient is connected to a heart-lung bypass machine, or bypass pump, during surgery.

Chin says: “I was not really scared because I had full faith in the surgeon.

"He said he could do the surgery so I did not worry.

"He is my saviour.”

A quick recovery

The operation was successful and after being warded for four days in the intensive care unit (ICU), Chin was transferred out to the normal ward and discharged about 14 days later.

“I was in a lot of pain when the plasters came off.

It's only in the past year that Chin has started to use a walking stick.

"Other than that, I was okay,” he says.

Within a month, Chin was walking unaided, albeit slowly, and his appetite returned.

Dr Choy Nyok says: “My mother suffered looking after him as he was, and is still, very impatient.

"Some of my sisters had retired then and helped out.

"I was still working in Kuantan at that time, but relocated here (Petaling Jaya, Selangor) after retirement.

“My mother always cooked, right up till a year ago when she suffered from a stroke.

"She also has vascular dementia and is bedridden now at 93, so we have taken over the kitchen.”

His five daughters, all unmarried, live with their parents and double up as their caregivers.

“Don’t ask me why my sisters are all not married!” says Chin’s son and sixth child Kim Loong, laughing.

“But at least they are around to look after our parents.”

Chin’s youngest son lives overseas.

While he has resumed some of his activities, age has slowed Chin down and he has started to rely on a walking stick this past year.

He also rests more.

“We stopped him from cycling after his heart bypass because the traffic was too heavy.

"Also, he was not all that steady,” shares Dr Choy Nyok.

On consuming alcohol and smoking, she adds: “He doesn’t drink – only an occasional glass at weddings or special functions – but he did smoke until my eldest sister was born.”

“No, no,” interjects daddy, correcting his daughter.

“I only smoked for a few months while I was working because my friends influenced me, but I really don’t like to puff, so I stopped.

“I hardly even drink beer.

"I only have one cup of coffee in the morning, and the rest of the day, I only drink water.”

Taking it easy

How does he spend his days?

Chin says: “I wake up at 7am every morning, have breakfast, take my medications, rest, go to the hall and read papers, then I watch television and do my exercises seated.

“I take two water bottles in my hand and do 300 punches before I conclude with some breathing exercises, which I learnt from a Japanese programme on television.

"I do this three times a day.

"The day continues like that. By 11pm, I’m in bed."

As he demonstrates the exercises to us, Dr Choy Njok adds: “Yes, he actually counts till 300!

Chin (centre), pictured here with Dr Choy Nyok (left) and Kim Loong, says he is blessed that his children all treat him and his wife well.

"Before my mother’s stroke, both of them would exercise in the garden.

“He’s got a bit of obsessive compulsive disorder and checks his blood pressure three times a day.

"His memory is still good – in fact, it’s better than ours!”

Chin, a third generation Malaysian, loves good food, especially his wife’s cooking, and his daughters have learnt to make some of their mother's dishes.

“At his age, what is there to control?

"The doctors will advise otherwise, but he eats whatever he wants and we don’t stop him.

"He loves all the pork dishes and the bad stuff!

"He hates porridge,” says Kim Loong.

Understandably, Chin is hard of hearing, so his children write notes for him on the phone or paper to communicate.

“I’m blessed that my children are all very nice to me.

"They treat me well and we are a happy family.

“My goal is to live to watch the Olympics in Paris next year; table tennis, diving, badminton – these are all my favourite sports. Then I will be satisfied with life.

"But before that, I will be going for my cataract operation soon, so I can see better,” he says as he gets up to leave.

Again, what a wonder that Chin has had good eyesight right up till now!

As we conclude the interview, he advises me: “I have taken care of myself and you must take care too.”

Operating on the old

Despite the many advances in medical technology to treat blocked arteries, CABG is a good option despite its risks, as many patients are able to go back to their normal lives again.

Dr Pau has performed more than 12,000 heart surgeries to date, and has a special place in his heart for Chin.

“One of the criteria is that the patient must be able to walk before the bypass surgery.

"If the patient is already bedridden, then the risk of complications is much higher.

"I also look at how the patient’s health is before deciding on the options,” says Dr Pau.

Since 2010, the surgeon has performed triple vessel CABG in 28 patients over the age of 80, and based on his personal records, all of them have had good outcomes.

“There was another patient, a lady, who was 92 and I performed a valve surgery on her.

"But she only survived for five years because she had other medical problems.

“I believe Chin is the longest survivor so far.

“When it comes to older patients, I take more time and extra precautions during the surgery.

"My other colleagues may have differing opinions and may not do bypasses on older patients, but so far, I’ve seen good results.

"Sometimes, my team also has differing opinions, so we try to negotiate,” he says.

This year marks Dr Pau’s 30th year with IJN, and since he came onboard in 1993, he has performed 12,838 open- and closed-heart surgery (up to last December).

In closed-heart surgeries, it is still necessary to open the chest, but the heart is not stopped, as the procedure involves repairing major blood vessels such as the aorta or pulmonary arteries.

The self-confessed workaholic does an average of two to three surgeries a day.

Dr Pau’s son is also a clinical fellow in cardiothoracic surgery at IJN, but the father-son duo have yet to operate together.

“It’s become my hobby to make people live!” says the grandfather in jest.

“I have no work-life balance – back then, I used to cycle and swim, but there’s just too much work now.

"Maybe when I retire, I’ll go back to my hobbies, though I’m not sure what the side effects of this lifestyle will be then!”