Recent content by dcpickle

The ver-sed (sp?) medicine they give you does make you forget. You may forget anything anyone says to you for the next hour or so! I had an esophageal dilation, (which is basically the same procedure as a TEE, only the thing they stick down your throat is different) Afterwards the Doctor came...

"due to the long "cross clamp time" that my blood system spend on the heart-lung machine, it damaged a lot of red blood cells and I felt very weak for a week and needed two blood- containers " Excellent write-up of your experiences, Hannes! (And your english is also excellent) I experienced...

Valerie and I both just joined the facebook group for Ross Procedure patients. I was on her list for text message updates. You can imagine the shock and sadness I felt when I got the brief text message this morning at 3:30 AM saying she didn't make it. I was not expecting this and it saddens...

She's now in recovery. Everything looks good!

An aneurism was found and repaired. Continuing with Ross Procedure.

I received an update which says her surgery is underway and going well. I'll post what I hear until her husband comes along later with his updates. DP

Christine, I believe most of the people around here who are on Coumadin will say that once they got their dosage under control and properly managed, it was not nearly as big an encumbrance as they thought it would be. Most of the problems we hear about are a result of improper dose management...

Rats, I just posted a photo of me in the hospital shirtless showing my incision. I thought it was just going to the Ross group, but it went to my wall (naturally) so now all my facebook friends can see it. Oh, well, no big deal really, I am a man, but still I was surprised. Guess you gotta be...

This surgery thing IS a big deal. It's very scary. The best encouragement I can give you is that after surgery was one of the happiest times I can remember. Actually the first 3 days or so in the hospital were bad, but after I got out, my wife and I were in an apartment for a week right...

I had a Ross and it has been good for me. I basically have the best of both the mechanical and tissue valves: No Coumadin, but with a reasonable hope of no repeat surgeries, or at least not for a long time. The Ross is a specialty surgery, so not all surgeons can/will do it. You do need to...

A Ross procedure is a long surgery. I think mine was like 8 hours. I'm not really sure. Dr. Stelzer said he doesn't do any other surgeries on days that he does a Ross. But then it was awhile before my wife could come into the ICU to see me. She did come in before I was awake, though, and...

I had a Ross and I'm happy with it. Just remember that you're choosing between several options, all of which will save your life. All the options, really, can be a good choice, and only you can decide which one is most likely to be the best choice for you. I believe there was a poll a while...

1. What type of Valve Replacement did you receive? Ross Procedure 2. Where did you receive your valve? Beth Israel Medical Center NY, NY 3. What year? 2004 4. Where you on medication prior to AVR? Are you on medications now? Blood pressure medicine before and after. Also, I was on daily...

Irish, be encouraged... When you do have surgery, you will probably notice a big difference in your energy level immediately, even while you're recovering from surgery. Good luck. And, there are lots of people here who have all gone through it. We can all testify that there is life after...