Recent content by Uni&Suki

Thanks all! I appreciate your input :)

Hi everyone, Recently, I switched to INR self-testing at home using the Roche CoaguChek XS meter. At the USA, it is really a pain to have insurance coverage for testing strips for weekly testing. My new anticoagulation clinic requires me to get a new machine, even though it is the same machine...

Hi, This sounds disturbing! I can tell you that Echo (cardiac ultrasound) is a very operator dependant procedure, which means it depends on the person doing the echo, and maybe the machine itself! I would not panic that much especially if you don't have symptoms and request your doctor to repeat...

Thanks for the response! This is reassuring 🙂 Did you use any measures to help with the numbness? Medication, topical treatment or something else?

Hi, I underwent aortic valve replacement (St.Jude) via minithoracotomy at the University of Iowa Hospital (Iowa City) 4 weeks ago. I chose this surgery because it is less invasive than open heart surgery and the post-operative course is somehow, smoother with less pain. My surgeon, Dr. Bashir...

Welcome! If you don't mind me asking, did you have post-surgery numbness around the incision site? Did it get better with time? I underwent AVR via minithoracotomy and my main complaint is numbness around the incision site.

This is called femoral vessels cutdown. They use femoral blood vessels as an access for the bypass machine and if they don’t have luck with just poking your skin to access the vessels, they make an incision (similar to the one you showed in pic) and locate the femoral vessels to directly...

Thank you for the response! My main issue is numbness and not pain. During mini-thoracotomy, they make a small incision (3-4 inches) into the intercostal space which contains nerves. To make the surgical field bigger, they use a soft tissue retractor that compresses the nerve and its blood...

Thank you for the response! I hope all your complaints get better with time :)

Thanks for your kind words! I totally understand that the healing process is lengthy will take time :)

Thank you for the response! This is reassuring :)

Hello everyone, I am very stoked to find this forum and how helpful it is to hear about others' experiences in dealing with the whole conundrum of valve-related diseases/issues. I recently underwent an aortic valve replacement with a mechanical valve (St Jude) via a minithoracotomy. My...