Effects of Heart Lung Machine Post OP

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Kvntoday

Active member
Joined
Dec 12, 2008
Messages
37
Location
Wellington , New Zealand
Has anybody suffered any changes in their life after Valve replacement and having been on the Heart Lung Machine?
I have noticed that sometimes I will transpose definitions for example, if I say "My ankle is sore" when in fact it is my "Wrist"? .
I have a friend who is a retired Anethetist and he has told me it is common after open heart surgery to have these sort of what seems memory lapses but he said that it does not get any worse but will probably continue for the rest of my life.
He says the after being on the HLM there appears to be a formation of minute air bubbles that appear in the brain and this is the cause.
I don't know if this is true but can anybody else confirm or deny this ?
Kvntoday
 
I think a lot of us have some issues have being on the pump. At my one year check up, I complained of the continuing issues so he sent me for an MRI. The results were that there were specific findings in the deep white matter. These things were not there in the MRI I had a few weeks before surgery. The radiologist indicated that the findings were consistent with someone of my age who had been on a HLM.

At times, I have trouble with finding the right word, fingers that don't type what my brain tells them to type, difficulty staying focused on details, and forgetting things here and there. My issues were a lot worse in the first couple of months after surgery but have remained at the same level since about 6 months post surgery.

I was told to excercise my brain - with reading, puzzles, and games; excercise my body to increase blood flow to my brain; and finally to get used to my "new normal" because it is what it is and the good thing is even with my "drain bamage" ;) I'm ALIVE!!

Good luck,
 
Kvntoday said:
4 Days AgoKvntoday
Has anybody suffered any changes in their life after Valve replacement and having been on the Heart Lung Machine?
I have noticed that sometimes I will transpose definitions for example, if I say "My ankle is sore" when in fact it is my "Wrist"? .
I have a friend who is a retired Anethetist and he has told me it is common after open heart surgery to have these sort of what seems memory lapses but he said that it does not get any worse but will probably continue for the rest of my life.
He says the after being on the HLM there appears to be a formation of minute air bubbles that appear in the brain and this is the cause.
I don't know if this is true but can anybody else confirm or deny this ?
Kvntoday
Click to expand...

and our doctors affectionately call us 'pumpheads'. You can search (above)- just type in pumphead and you'll find pages upon pages about it - some of us believe, some of us don't. I had quad bypass in March 2000 and to this day I have the most difficult time remembering names - have to know someone for 6 or 8 months before I can get it right unless it's someone I deal with day after day or month after month. We all get round it one way or another and some have found it affected their every day life but did not last long. But you will read and find out for yourselves.

On the other hand, I invite newer folks to jump in here and give their experiences because it's been a long time since we did an indepth discussion. Many of us had our surgeries 5 or more years ago and we know that modern techniques have come into play and things may have changed.

How about it, y'all? Let's do it again. ok?

wait to hear from y'all. tks and blessins,/........
 
Pump heads !? This is all new to me ! I know that when I came home from hospital about 5 days post op I had all sorts of head trouble... Firstly I woke up in my brothers car half way home (two hour drive) not having a clue where I was and my brother stopping me from opening the door and getting out the moving car ! The second evening home whilst watching tv with the lodger I suddenly realised I didn't know who he was or where I was, but kept myself really calm and thought it through. Then a day or two later my chest was hurting so I casually pulled my shirt down a bit to look at it and was completely freaked by the fack there was a huge scar there... It took what seemed like an age to figure it out and then I got upset because I'd forgotten I'd had heart surgery !
But touch wood these weird moments of madness seem to have stopped now.
Strangely enough, for years I've regulary called things by the wrong name and people just ignore me now as it's normally obvious what I mean... The fridge will be the washing machine, or fire will be the heater or turning the lamp on could mean the telly !?
I cant believe I'm admitting this, but I couldn't read or write until I was 17 ! I got away with it at school through being very devious and being able to copy and cheat very well. I got into art college as I wanted to be a photographer and enjoyed art.. They sussed very quickly that I couldn't read and was diagnosed with severe Dyslexia and tought how to read ! I'm of course still very dyslexic but can now read and write,albeit very slowly ! But excuse my missing words and terrible spelling!
As for bubbles in the brain, that's just something else for me to worry about now, as if I didn't have enough ! I'm so scatty anyway I'd probably not notice !
 
I remember faces but I'll be durned if I can put a name to them. Although, as long as I continuously use the person's name in 3 different ways (auditory, visual and lingual) for a little while of first (please note: I also transpose words as these in bold. I meant to type: for the first little while of) getting to know them, I will remember.
 
Woodbutcher said:
Pump heads !? This is all new to me ! I know that when I came home from hospital about 5 days post op I had all sorts of head trouble... Firstly I woke up in my brothers car half way home (two hour drive) not having a clue where I was and my brother stopping me from opening the door and getting out the moving car ! The second evening home whilst watching tv with the lodger I suddenly realised I didn't know who he was or where I was, but kept myself really calm and thought it through. Then a day or two later my chest was hurting so I casually pulled my shirt down a bit to look at it and was completely freaked by the fack there was a huge scar there... It took what seemed like an age to figure it out and then I got upset because I'd forgotten I'd had heart surgery !
But touch wood these weird moments of madness seem to have stopped now.
Strangely enough, for years I've regulary called things by the wrong name and people just ignore me now as it's normally obvious what I mean... The fridge will be the washing machine, or fire will be the heater or turning the lamp on could mean the telly !?
I cant believe I'm admitting this, but I couldn't read or write until I was 17 ! I got away with it at school through being very devious and being able to copy and cheat very well. I got into art college as I wanted to be a photographer and enjoyed art.. They sussed very quickly that I couldn't read and was diagnosed with severe Dyslexia and tought how to read ! I'm of course still very dyslexic but can now read and write,albeit very slowly ! But excuse my missing words and terrible spelling!
As for bubbles in the brain, that's just something else for me to worry about now, as if I didn't have enough ! I'm so scatty anyway I'd probably not notice !
Click to expand...


Did you tell your docs this? (the first paragraph?) it could be something beside pumphead
 
I haven't bothered discussing it with any of my doctors but I know after my first OHS I had pumphead and have had trouble with names and sometimes vocabulary. My second OHS four years later (coming up onto a year ago), there is no doubt I suffered more pumphead. I used to be excellent with numbers/accounting and now am much less so.

Seeing as there doesn't seem to be a fix and it isn't getting worse, I accept it is what it is and realize this is my new normal.
 
I experienced bad memory loss after a bunion removal surgery and there was no lung machine used. I was extremely sharp and would remember details, names, faces, discussions, places, dates, etc. -- I had visual and photographic memory for many long years...Before retiring, my colleagues depended on my memory rather than on files. I related this memory loss to anesthesia since there was no lung machine and when I complained to doctors about my memory, they denied the relevance.

Next morning of my OHS I was fully awake, very alert, and very pain free and kept asking all if I really had the surgery! doctors, nurses, visitors were amazed how I looked and felt. But, the second or third night (can't remember :D) I woke up around 2 am and did not recognize where I was or why I was in such a place and alone...I was able to figure out that I was in a hospital but not why or where! I cried because I knew did not know how to contact my hubby or where to contact him. I knew he would contact me, but I could not describe to him where I was and how to come. Was I in Europe? a remote area? in mountains? I decided to reach out to my heavenly Mother, Mother Mary, and pray to God to help me sleep and to remember everything when I woke up. I put on the tape recorder with chants and the rosaries and I slept in peace and trusting my Lord and Mother. It was scary. That was my only incident.

We are living miracles, and I always count my blessings.
 
Oh my I was forgetting names and typing in a dylexic fashion prior to my OHS -- it has not been any worse -- though I do have to write things down and focus on one thing at a time for now. It has only been 4 months and I'm back at work and moving right along. I was sent several puzzle books and did a lot of computer gaming while I was convalescing at home so perhaps that helped my thought processes.
 
Hi Ann, Welcome to the forum. I guess you've already had your surgery. It's terrific to see you posting.

My episodes are manageable and I usually catch my word transposition before I actually hit enter. I left that one alone to illustrate what happens sometimes. I agree with you, keeping our minds lively and exercising is good even when we have no reason to expect memory problems.

Take Heart, I'll bet we all remember our humanity, if nothing else...
Pamela.
 
I'm glad that we are discussing this again. I like the term that's popping up... the "new normal". I think acceptance is a huge part of complete recovery.

There certainly used to be a serious question about pumphead in the earlier years of open heart surgery. But I believe that new and sophisticated filters and slower warming techniques are pretty common practice nowadays.

That said, I certainly have a more difficult time getting things to come out right once in awhile. Words just don't come, like vocabulary words that just get stuck. Or proper names.... but I was never very good at names. I figured since I'm in my mid 50's I could attribute some of it to the "cotton head" of menopause (which I am definitely in the midst of), but reading these posts, it most probably is from the HLM.

Woodbutcher... these are not things to worry over. Please do not hyper-concern yourself with these little nuisances until you have given yourself 18 months or so to adjust to the new you. You will learn to smile more at people as you are stumbling...and nobody can every refuse a smile ;) so no one will be the wiser. You will learn to accept the little pauses your brain has. It's almost like an old record player going over a skip -- you just miss a word or two, but you can always go back and rephrase yourself and correct.

Ann, (the new Ann) welcome!! Please join us for more conversations.

Ann, Hensylee .... you're right.... a refreshed discussion of this would be good for the newbies, and to see how far along the rest of us are!

Kvntoday, I know it is startling to hear yourself have these gaps. It is frustrating. For me, it improved greatly over time, but as I said, it still happens. It's like a brain stutter. But for the really important moments, it does not seem to affect me. And I have accepted it as the "new normal".

Try to be patient with your healing self. Be gentle with yourself. This healing takes way longer to be fully realized than we expect. The surgery is generally less of a problem than we anticipated, but the overall general recovery can seem like it's taking forever.

Hang in there!

Marguerite
 
I asked my AVR Surgeon about 'cognitive effects' of surgery. He told me their hospital uses the "Best Filters" to catch debris/bubbles.

There was discussion about a study on cognitive impairment following OHS. One of the things they found was that slowing the rate at which the body is brought back to normal temperature (by adding only a few minutes, say 5 or 10) to the process seemed to greatly reduce cognitive impairment. Tobagotwo has written about the reasons behind that phenomenon.

'AL Capshaw'
 
My problem is I have always been known as a scatterbrain (perhaps due to the residual effects of Woodstock and such),,so,I cant remember if its worse now or not.
I do have trouble finding the correct words sometimes when speaking and please dont interrupt when I'm talking,,or that thought flies out the window.
Now,6 months out.I try to keep my sense of humor. I have also found it easier to say to someone,"I have just had heart surgery and I recognize your face but cant recall your name". It took a long time to start saying that and I found people are very cool about it.

I also bought stock in post - its!!
 
Woodbutcher said:
Pump heads !? This is all new to me ! I know that when I came home from hospital about 5 days post op I had all sorts of head trouble... Firstly I woke up in my brothers car half way home (two hour drive) not having a clue where I was and my brother stopping me from opening the door and getting out the moving car ! The second evening home whilst watching tv with the lodger I suddenly realised I didn't know who he was or where I was, but kept myself really calm and thought it through. Then a day or two later my chest was hurting so I casually pulled my shirt down a bit to look at it and was completely freaked by the fack there was a huge scar there... It took what seemed like an age to figure it out and then I got upset because I'd forgotten I'd had heart surgery !
But touch wood these weird moments of madness seem to have stopped now.
Strangely enough, for years I've regulary called things by the wrong name and people just ignore me now as it's normally obvious what I mean... The fridge will be the washing machine, or fire will be the heater or turning the lamp on could mean the telly !?
I cant believe I'm admitting this, but I couldn't read or write until I was 17 ! I got away with it at school through being very devious and being able to copy and cheat very well. I got into art college as I wanted to be a photographer and enjoyed art.. They sussed very quickly that I couldn't read and was diagnosed with severe Dyslexia and tought how to read ! I'm of course still very dyslexic but can now read and write,albeit very slowly ! But excuse my missing words and terrible spelling!
As for bubbles in the brain, that's just something else for me to worry about now, as if I didn't have enough ! I'm so scatty anyway I'd probably not notice !
Click to expand...


the reason it's called pumphead: the heart/lung machine pumped for us while under the knife. It pumped wee blood clots to the brain which may/may not cause a little damage to our memory & stuff like that - but it heals soon.

your first paragraph is bothersome, not like pumphead syndrome. if you have more of that you probly ought to ask your dr about it.

welcome to the pumphead club. I am a member, too.
 
Ann said:
Oh my I was forgetting names and typing in a dylexic fashion prior to my OHS -- it has not been any worse -- though I do have to write things down and focus on one thing at a time for now. It has only been 4 months and I'm back at work and moving right along. I was sent several puzzle books and did a lot of computer gaming while I was convalescing at home so perhaps that helped my thought processes.
Click to expand...

welcome, Ann - from the other Ann.

I do computer games every morning to check my brain function and to see if I oughta stay home that day! Also do word puzzles, not just crosswords. Have been doing that pretty much since just after surgery when I got my first computer game cds.

Glad to see you.
Blessins.............
 
Dyna said:
Great, 1 more thing to be a bit concerned about. I told my wife about it & asked her if I could use that as an excuse to hit on other women. But honey I couldn't remember which one of you I was married to.:D She didn't find the humor in that.
Click to expand...

Good one! I will try this on my wife after my OHS. LOL
 
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