Aneurysm success stories

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Duff Man

Duff Man

VR.org Supporter
Supporting Member
Joined
May 1, 2008
Messages
1,334
Location
Springfield
Guys, I'm down and out. I'm in the waiting room and my number's up pretty soon, even though I don't have a formal date. I'm having a modified bentall's procedure or a modified David procedure. I would love it if you guys could lend me some inspiration with your aneurysm repair stories. I've read quite a few stories, but if I could just go to one thread when I'm really down like this and read how you guys did it and made it, that would be sooooo rejuvenating. I think my wife will appreciate it too, along with others in this position.

Thanks guys.
 
Thanks so much for your story bro. I am trying to stay positive and I think this thread is going to be invaluable to that process. When I find myself getting down I'm going to come read the thread. Each one of you are a success story.
 
I was worried too

I was worried too

Before surgery, especially with two small kiddos at home. All I wanted to do was wake up, and all would be ok after that. I said i would put up with anything! Here I am, 2 weeks after surgery, and complaining about the bumps along the way! Big picture though- everything went great- I had my aortic aneurysm not only repaired at the root (which is what I expected) but oh ya, the arch too! Which meant cooling down my body- it all went off without a hitch (mechanical valve too). I woke up, and in fighting form! Believe me, it is such a relief to wake up, and when it is all over, you too will find something new to worry about, and pretty soon, it will all be behind you. This was my second surgery, and the physical recovery has been a peice of cake! Keep positive. Which reminds me: I was given a pre-surgery relaxation CD with visualizations and affirmations and relaxing music. I was able to wear it as soon as I went in to the prep, and it really helped the nerves! I listened to it at home the week before surgery too, and it really had a calming effect. I got it from Mayo during my pre-op consult. I would highly recommend it. Good luck, and you will do great! Stay positive!
 
A confident state of mind is very helpful when going into this surgery...I put all my trust in my chosen surgeon and knew that absolutely everything would been done to ensure my safety...You have to give yourself over to your surgeon trusting his ability to do his job well.

I am not sure what you mean by success...do you want to hear the stories from those of us who had complications and are now fit and healthy ?...

Short version:
I had the Bentall operation and just as they were settling me down in ICU my heart had a hissy-fit and I was heading towards heaven fast...3 Cardiac Arrests and 4 more hours in the operating room later my surgeon had saved my life again....it took a few more days until they knew if my brain had been saved. These surgeons are brilliant and this is their area of expertise...just let them do their job. Its probably good to remember that as well as being trained and experienced in the actual surgery they also know how to fix any problems that may arise.

A positive attitude is about the only thing left for you to do to help yourself, all the rest is up to your surgeon and his team. I reckon we have the easy job! My Doc prescribed Valium to calm my nerves down in the few weeks before, it worked a treat!.

Your chances of something going wrong in surgery are less than something going wrong if you dont have surgery...
 
a little over 2 years ago I wetn to see a cardiologist. Mainly becasue I knew that something was up and that most likely meant valve replacement. you see I had surgery for my aortic valve back in 1959, Doctors always told me that one day I would need a replacement, probably around the time I was 35.

I made it to 52. Of course I just refused to acknowledge to myself that I should be seeing a cardiologist on a regular basis. In fact I had not seen one probably about the time I was 19 to age 52. Was I lucky, yeah.

Of course I had no idea that lurking in there was a quite large aneurysm of my aorta. By large I mean 5.8 cm worth. Well, after all the test from that fisrt visit to the cardiologist they told me that I needed surgery and it needed to happen in the next 6 months and until I had that surgery not to lift anything heavier than a loaf of bread (she did finally say 10# limit).

the whole ordeal was not something I lost sleep over, the hardest thing was picking the valve. Once I made my mind up I was fine and just waited for the day. I knew that it was out of my hands and in the hands of experts. What happened happened, nothing I could do to change it. Just went in positive things would be ok.

Outside of a bout with afib in the hospital my recovery had been pretty unremarkable. Life has not really changed much afterwards other than I do have a limit of what I am supposed to lift.

I guess the weirdest part of it all was that if not or the enlarged aortic root and aorta they said my bicuspid valve would not have needed replacement even at 47 years after my first surgery. But I look at it this way, for the first time in my life I have the closest thing to a normal valve in my chest.

As I see it if you don't fix it the chances you won't survive go up everyday. With it fixed you stand a much better chance of a long life.
 
Had a bentalls 18 months ago.

No complications, no pacemaker, steady & uneventful recovery.

If it wasn't for the tick tick tick i wouldn't even notice the difference.

Before surgery (unknown to me but not my wife) i was tired, lethargic, grumpy, snappy & snoring....probably a few more of the seven dwarfs also.

Post surgery i'm a much happier individual, i thought i had no symptoms but the difference between then and now is marked. I have patience, energy, focus etc etc.

As far as the surgery is concerned....2-3 days of shitty, followed by a few weeks of tiredness & recovery and then onwards and upwards.

It always seemed like my answer to the "how are you feeling" question was that i felt 100%, but i just kept feeling better and better as the recovery went on.

You'll be ok mate.
 
Success!

Success!

I probably pushed my luck too far before having AVR surgery and a graft procedure to fix my 5.8 cm aneurysm. Fortunately fate played out in my favor.

The prospects associated with any kind of OHS can be depressing and the wait can really be an emotional roller coaster ride. Unfortunately, the outcome of not having necessary AVR surgery and aneurysm repair is seldom positive.

The outcome of my surgery seems to be pretty positive. Other than taking six days off work for the surgery, having a few days of feeling poorly following surgery, and trying to remember to take my daily meds, I've no complaints. I continue to pursue a very unrestricted, active lifestyle. Hopefully, when I visit my cardiologist on Friday for what amounts to my 18th month checkup he'll agree that things are going very well.

Do really try to look at what you are facing as a positive thing. It is positive; you get these issues fixed so you can move on with your life.

-Philip
 
hey Arron, you and I are in about the same boat. I was in shock for about 2 weeks, and then decided that life had to go on. I am a firm believer of the Lord won't throw anything your way that you can't handle (just wish he wouldn't try so hard!) As my cardio said, I could be at the 4.7Cm range for 30 years. I will do faithfully follow ups and when the time comes to get it fixed, I will be as ready as I can be. The folks on this forum are a great support network. Do not let this consume you, this is only a speed bump in the parking lot of life.
 
I had the aneurysm repaired, I don't know how much I was dialated. The surgeon said it was worse than he expected once I was opened up. It went really well for me. It was much harder on my wife than it was on me, I just had to go to sleep and stay still for 4 hours or so.

In any case, I thought I didn't have any symptoms before surgery. How wrong I was. I feel better now than I have in the past 5 to 10 years. Even being tired and sore from the sturnum I feel better than pre-op! Now I just have to build some stamina and remodel that heart to get my EF up.
 
On December 20, 2002, I underwent a David procedure to fix an ascending aortic aneurysm. Thus far all is holding up quite well. Recovery was generally uneventful. I was back in my gym 6 weeks to the day of my surgery, returned to work at 7 weeks. You will be just fine my friend.
 
AaronJ,

I'm 27, relatively healthy, and somehow found myself in the hospital with a 7.0cm aneurysm in danger of immediate dissection and in need of a BVR. A day later, I had an emergency Bentall procedure and BVR, and I can honestly say now I've never felt better. Two months out, I am back to work full-time, walking 2-3 miles a day, and feeling very grateful.

Recovery can be difficult (especially sleeping!) and the adjustment to anti-coag therapy takes a little bit of getting used to, but otherwise I have more energy and stamina than I have had in years. Sometimes, you don't realize the depth of your health problem until it's been taken care of. I didn't have much time to think about surgery before it happened, but I'm sure everyone's stories will ease your anxiety levels.

Best wishes!
Jarrad
 
Now listen up son, I'm about to come drag you to surgery myself. I know your scared. We all were/are. Your going to be just fine if you get that thing taken care of before she blows on you. You gotta forget this control thing because frankly chief, you ain't in control and won't gain control. It's going to beat the crap out of you worse then any bully on the play ground, but you'll recover and have a life ahead of you. Right now, all you have ahead is doom. Bicuspid Boy is right, you need to stay focused on a positive outcome, stop listening to that little devil on your shoulder whispering doubts in your ear and move forth. ;):)
 
JNoonez said:
AaronJ,

Recovery can be difficult (especially sleeping!) and the adjustment to anti-coag therapy takes a little bit of getting used to, but otherwise I have more energy and stamina than I have had in years. Best wishes!
Jarrad
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And you've been here long enough to know that anticoagulation is something that we will help you with because it's a given that not many people out there that are supposed to know what their doing, do. If you follow us along, you won't have much of a problem.
 
Ross said:
Now listen up son, I'm about to come drag you to surgery myself. I know your scared. We all were/are. Your going to be just fine if you get that thing taken care of before she blows on you. You gotta forget this control thing because frankly chief, you ain't in control and won't gain control. It's going to beat the crap out of you worse then any bully on the play ground, but you'll recover and have a life ahead of you. Right now, all you have ahead is doom. Bicuspid Boy is right, you need to stay focused on a positive outcome, stop listening to that little devil on your shoulder whispering doubts in your ear and move forth. ;):)
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Yep, yep, yep -- those above are the words of a wise man. Think positive!

I had a Bentall's at age 63 -- on day of surgery that sucker inside me was something like 5.3, a whopper. If an old fogy like me survived this procedure and came out the better for it, you will too. But you will have to put your trust in some other experts, as well as (depending on your spiritual beliefs) faith in the Big Guy Upstairs. :)
 
Aaron,

Get a copy somehow of the book I am talking about "Thriving with Heart Disease". Go to the library, buy it, rent it, lease it, steal it (well, don't break any Commandments in obtaining it, but you get my drift). I'm serious, it has already changed my outlook on this worst part of the journey. I'm not going to kid myself and believe that I won't be apprehensive or have fears and anxieties. Knowledge is good but don't beat it to death. I have handed mine over to God because I can't handle it alone. I am in the same place as you right now but I am trying to use as many resources I can to maintain fix upon the positive outcomes. Everyone is right- if you don't do it, you die. That is good enough for me. I want to live long enough for my children to change MY diapers! :D

I'll see Dr. McCarthy next Thursday, so I am gearing up to the beginning of my hospital stay. I am pretty sure I will have a surgery date as of June 26th.
 
I'm not sure if this is the kind of story that you are looking for, but here goes. My son's aneurysm was not detected, he went to doctor after doctor with chest pain and they all said that he was fine. Eventually he had a massive heart attack, which they finally figured out, but still couldn't figure out why his heart was failing. After 4 days of heart failure an echo tech finally saw that his aorta was dissected (they eventually realized that a test done 2 weeks before also showed the dissection). He was rushed to surgery for a new valve and aorta but his heart stopped during the surgery. They put him on life support in the hopes that his heart would rest and recover, but no go. 12 hours after the first surgery they implanted an experimental heart assist pump and told us that they put him at the top of the heart transplant list. I asked them to wait a while because he was so young that I hoped that his heart would recover - they told me I was crazy, but that it wouldn't hurt anything to wait. 6 months later they said that it looked like his heart had recovered enough to remove the pump so we scheduled surgery. He was one of the first people in the world to have the heart pump removed. It has been 15 months since his surgery and he is still alive and still has his own heart. His heart is not normal, but he is a walking miracle. He still drives his off-road car and occasionally rides his off-road motorcycle, he hangs out with his friends, works part time and is an amazing success story.
If he can survive all of this, just imagine how well you can do!
 
Listen, Listen, Listen

Listen, Listen, Listen

Listen to the advice Ross is giving you and get the problem fixed. Yeah, we're all different and that's another reason not to wait. You don't know what's going on with the tissue in there. After looking at the condition of the tissue he removed when repairing my aneurysm, my surgeon commented that he figured I had between six weeks and six months before mine would have blown.

-Philip
 
This thread was a good idea. I know a lot of people have bad recoveries and that I should expect that possibility, but all the bad recovery stories were freaking me out. I'm glad to hear there is a chance I could have a fairly "easy" recovery. I've recovered very quickly from all five c-sections and my hernia surgery, and while I know OHS is totally different, I hope that my trend will continue and that I will recover faster than the average person.
 
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