OUCH...sternum wires?

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D

Dee

Hi to all of my long lost valver friends...I know, you're thinking, "where the heck has she been"? It's a long story, but many trials and tribulations in my life and just no time for the internet. But here I am with a question about sternum wires.

A little history, my OHS was 3 years ago this coming Oct. The lower part of my scar was hypertrophic (a red raised ridge & painful), I went in over a year ago to get some shots to see if that would help, it did. The scar went down and the pain was gone. Then about 6 mths ago or so, my 16 year old son came up behind me and picked me up to "show off his muscles"....in the mean time, I heard something pop, thought it was probably my back. My chest was a little sore, but got more sore as time went on. I did go to the Dr. and he took an x-ray of my sternum and wires, didn't see anything "alarming". Then the red ridge (hypertrophic scar) came back. I went back in for another set of shots since it worked the first time. This last round of shots seemed to make my skin in that area very thin....I can see and feel the wires, ties and all, I know, kinda gross!:eek:

Now I'm having this weird pain in my sternum especially if I move just right or something bumps or hits it. The pain is one that takes my breath away for a minute and then takes a few minutes to go away. Sometimes it just shows up for no apparent reason and I also feel like I can't take a real deep breath, maybe that part is in my head because of the discomfort?:rolleyes:

So, my question is......have any of you experienced anything like this and also, has anyone had their sternum wires taken out? Would you do it again? Was the surgery major or not? I really don't want to go through another surgery, but I also don't want to live with this pain as it seems to keep getting worse! I would love to hear from anyone that has any experience with this or knows of someone that has. I'm trying to find out some facts from people that have had this done before I go to the Dr. so I'm some what educated about it.

I hope to find time to read some of the forums to catch up on what everybody has been doing for the last several months! I miss not having my connection with you all!

Take Care~
 
Hi DeeDee, welcome back! I can feel my wires, but they've never given me any trouble. I can emphathize more with the 16-year-old son, since I think I used to do similar things -- He doesn't know his own strength, is what they said to me. I hope it's nothing serious, but I don't know what you should do about it.
 
yes, msometimews they break and they are taken out as outpatient. ILoveNY went in as an admission and had all hers out in the hospital. some others have had theirs out. it isn't a big deal from what they say. Good luck

you will remember ILoveNY. she was about 20 and had some other probls, too.
 
Hi Dee!
So, if my math is correct, you were about 2 years post when your son picked you up and you began having issues again? I would think that by 2 years, your sternum would be fully healed. I'm wondering if you were injured in a new area of the sternum. I've always heard that once a bone break heals fully, it is stronger in that spot than the other parts of that bone. (My son's orthopedist told us that when he had a spiral fracture all the way through his tibia.) I don't know if this is true of a sternum.

It might be a wire situation as you said, and yes, we've had people here who have had their wires removed. Hopefully they'll be along and comment on that.

And my son has picked me up that way too. :mad: :rolleyes: The bear hug from the back lift? Although by the time he was big enough to do it, I was probably 8 years post op.
 
Dee,

We had a thread about sternum wires a few months ago. Here's a link to it:

http://www.valvereplacement.com/forums/showthread.php?t=16176&highlight=sternum+wires

During the discussion it was mentioned that a number of members had had their wires removed, but I don't believe anyone came forward to talk about what that entails. Maybe someone will now.

Sounds like you have a substantial problem with the wires. I hope you will find a good solution.

Cheers,
 
Thanks for the replies and the link to the other forum on wires. I read them and sent a PM to the lady that was going to talk to her Cardio about getting them removed, to see what she decided.

I really don't think it's my sternum, but I'm wondering if when my son squeezed me, if it didn't "adjust" one of the tails on the wires to where it's poking something inside.

The other forum mentions that thin people seem to have more problems with their wires....that would be my case. I'm thinner now than when I had OHS surgery. It's called the "stress diet"! :rolleyes:

It's good to see some of the same people still on here!!! :D
 
Well in a way, I'm glad your son did lift you up. It got you back here! Please come around more often. I miss ya. :)
 
I had the stenal wires removed about 6 years ago. They first did an x-ray to see if they were a figure 8 or paper clipped configuration. Mine were the figure 8 which meant they needed to make 4 incisions to get them out. The paper clipped shaped ones come out much easier. I did it on a out patient stay but did have to adjust the coumadin a bit. The pain was very minimal. I had lost so much weight that they were protruding through the skin and more painful than having them removed. The wires were from the third open heart surgery which was about 3 years prior to the wire removal. Let me know if you have any more questions.
Kathleen
 
Kathleen,
It's good to hear from someone who's actually had their wires removed. I also have the paper clip shaped (I guess that's what you call it). All individual with a twisty tie tail.
I guess I'm going to have to weigh whether the pain is enough to go through another surgery or not, but boy, it sure would be nice to have those ugly, painful things gone!!!
Thank you for sharing your experience!!
 
Dee -

Go for it! This is SUCH minor surgery compared to OHS. My wires poked and pulled, which hurt when I sailed. Plus, I just didn't like the thought of those wires being in me. What am I, a garbage bag that I need to be twist-tied shut???? :eek: :D :eek::D :eek:

I went in at 6:30 am, had the wires removed around 8:00 am - a 15 minute procedure done under some fast-wearing-off anesthesia (propofol?). Took 45 minutes to get back awake and sign the discharge papers, and was out to breakfast at 9:30 am!

Best pancakes I ever had. :D And not a wire worry since that day. Sooooooo worth it!

Melissa
 
I had my wires removed about a year ago (almost 7 years after surgery). My surgeon said that as the sternum and muscles heal, it's real common for the wires to shift, so I'm sure that a hard squeeze could do the same thing. I had one that was poking and causing pain and bruising from underneath, especially when one of my kids/students hugged me, but apparently they were all out of whack, so he decided to remove them all. Mine were twisted like twist-ties, so I'm not sure if that's paperclip or figure 8! I did go on Lovenox, but it was an easy outpatient procedure. Normally they make small incisions along your original incision to remove the wires. In my case, my original incision was horizontal, so the surgeon made a very small vertical incision (about 1") perpendicular to my original incision and was able to remove all of the wires through that incision. Because the incision was 7-8" from my top wire, he had to work at it a little, but he just snipped them and pulled them out. I had a lot of swelling and a huge bruise about the size of a dinnerplate (my boobs were black!), but very little pain. I went back to work (as a 1st grade teacher) the next day. The worst part was that after about 1 1/2 weeks, the fluid/blood that had caused the swelling started leaking out through the incision in a large quantity, which the nurse said was normal. I wore a large bandage on it, but it was like being on my period - left spots on clothes and on my bedsheets!

It's really no big deal though and I would advise it for anyone.
 
Okay, you guys are making me want to do this more and more....I just think I would feel so much better with those things out of there. To feel free at last!

Melissa, I see you're from Boulder. Did you have your surgery done locally? I would love to get the name of the Dr. that did your surgery. My heart surgeon moved to Branson, so she's not in Colorado anymore. If you wouldn't mind letting me know who took your wires out, I would really appreciate it, as I don't know who to go to for something like this. You can PM me if you would rather.

Thanks again for sharing your experiences Melissa and Lisa!! Sounds like there's a lot of Dr's out there that try to talk you out of it, but when it comes down to it, it's not all that bad? When I mentioned it to my GP, he said, 'oh that's a bigger deal than you think'. And he hadn't ever heard of anyone having their's out. So how did he know how big of deal it was??

Thanks again, and I'll look forward to hearing from you Melissa! (mine are also the twisty tie kind).
 
You would be so much happier with them out and whatever makes one happy is a good thing. I used a thoractic surgeon since they make such fine surgical lines. I have never ever been sorry I had the wires removed and did ask for a written guarantee that they will never put them in again. Just think of it as having a little plastic surgery on your chest. I will watch to see what you decide.
Kathleen
 
Mine were making my life miserable. MRI showed nothing unusual but I remained in pain. I finally talked my surgeon into taking them out. After he removed them he still insisted there was nothing he could see that would have been bothering me but the pain went away after they were removed. Best decision I ever made. Before having them removed I was in too much pain to play golf...now I'm playing twice a week with no pain.

BTW...I had mine taken out 7 months after my Ross Procedure. In and out the same day with only minor pain from the incision.
 
Isn't it amazing how the Doctors want to talk us out of this procedure? I mentioned it to my GP one day when I was there for something else and he said, "Oh, that's not an easy surgery and I really don't know of anyone that has that done". Then I hear from you that have had it done and it's totally the opposite. What I'm hearing is life is much better without being wired! I guess for those that don't have problems with the wires, it's no big deal, but for us that have discomfort, it could make life better.

I would love to hear from Melissa about who did her surgery since she's in Colorado also (I'll PM her). I really don't know what my cardio is going to say about this, I'm sure he'll probably discourage it also. But there comes a time that you have to do like Bryan did and just go for it! I'm just about there!

Thanks again for all of the responses! I had no idea how many of you have had your wires removed!!
 
Dee,

I think the reason they are cautious about recommending this "elective" surgery ( :rolleyes: ) is because you do have to go under general anesthesia and that always poses a certain risk. But if you tolerated the anesthesia well during your heart surgery, the odds are that you will do fine...and like Melissa said they use a short acting drug to put you under. I felt what little risk there may be was worth it to be able to live life pain free. Good luck and it's cool to be wireless now days. ;) :cool:
 
I've been under anesthesia 6 or 7 times and the only problem I've had is nausea. I actually had a minor surgery this last Dec., so after my OHS and everything went fine.

One thing I didn't think about; if this surgery is "elective", does insurance pay for it? I know all insurances are different, but those of you that have had the surgery, did your insurance pay for the surgery?

Something more to think about....:rolleyes:
 
I'm on a PPO and mine paid. Generally, if the wires are causing you pain, they will pay. The definition of an "elective" surgery is one that is not an emergency to save your life. My OHS was "elective". My hysterectomy was "elective". "Elective" is not to be confused with "cosmetic".
 
Hi Dee,

Sent you Dr. Douthit's info via PM - thanks for the reminder. My HMO paid for the removal. They even paid for radiation therapy afterward to keep the scar from turning keloid on me. I bet you can get yours covered.

Melissa
 
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