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Do you really believe the Mayo Clinic allowed a surgical assistant perform heart and brain surgeries? Really?

Good luck! Good luck! Lilteach, just wanted to wish you well tomorrow. I don't post much any more, but saw you were in Houston and wanted to say hi. You have an excellent surgeon in Dr. Ott. I know this is a scary time, but I'm sure you'll make it through fine. Best of luck; I'll be...

Dr. Lawrie did my AVR 4 years ago. Besides being a top-notch surgeon, he also seems to be a really nice guy. He took the time to call my elderly parents after my surgery to let them know I was doing well. They were very excited to see him on the news.

Aspirin Trial Aspirin Trial This is encouraging news. I had a tissue valve implanted in January, and hope to get 15 years out of it. I will probably go with a mechanical the next time to hopefully limit my number of surgeries to two. I wish everyone well that is taking part in this trial...

Chest tube Chest tube I only had one tube, but it was a LONG one. The PA removed it, and told me it was going to hurt. He told me to take a deep breath and slowly exhale as he pulled it out. The tube kept comming and comming; I thought I was going to run out of breath. It was the most...

Congratulations on your recovery! I agree with Johnny V that the worst pain was when they removed the chest drain tube. I'm sure that is already gone; so it should be downhill from now on. Just keep walking and breathing and you'll be back to normal before you know it.

Dr. Lawrie Dr. Lawrie Hello, Liz: Dr. Lawrie did my aortic valve replacement surgery 6 months ago. I would very highly recommend him. Besides being an excellent surgeon, he also seems to be a really nice guy. Everyone at the hospital had great things to say about him. I would also give...

Bump Bump I had my surgery in January of this year and a couple of weeks ago, I noticed a bump on my scar. It was almost like a boil, and some clear fluid seeped out of it. Just when I was getting ready to go to the doctor, it went way down and now I can barely feel it. I'm keeping an eye...

I had the nasty throat spray, plus the Versed and Demerol. My lights went out, but came back on when I woke up thinking I was choking to death. They said I was fighting light a madman, trying to pull the tube out of my throat. They had to bring on the heavier drugs to totally knock me out.

Tissue Valve Tissue Valve My surgeon (very highly respected heart surgeon) also recommended a tissue valve for me. At age 48 I know I will probably go through another surgery later on in life, but right now my anticoagulation therapy is one aspirin a day. More and more of the well-known...

Breathing tube Breathing tube My biggest fear of the surgery was waking up with the breathing tube. When I had my TEE, I woke up from the versed and demerol sedation; thought I couldn't breathe, and tried to pull the tube out of my throat. In my surgery, I don't remember the tube at all...

Small Incision Small Incision Kizzy, I had my aortic valve replaced 9 weeks ago and the incision is only 3 inches long. They still cut through your sternum, so I think the pain factor is about the same, but the scar is much less noticeable. Mine is starting to fade already. My surgeon told...

I am 9 weeks post-op and had my first big sneeze 2 days ago. I thought it was long enough that I could handle it ... WRONG!!! I had tears in my eyes. Next time I will definetly reach for the pillow.

I am 10 weeks post-op and really battling the insomnia thing. My cardio gave my a few Ambien tabs that really helped, but he doesn't want me getting dependent on these to sleep. I have found a couple Tylenol PM's help sometimes. I have to go back to work next week, so I am really starting to...

Hi, I am five weeks post-op, and everything seems to be progressing well. Last week my cardiologist thought I looked pale, and ordered blood count tests. The tests came back that I am anemic. I have heard that this is not that uncommon after OHS. He is taking some more blood tomorrow, and if...

Hello Lezlie, you have a very tough decision to make. I was in a very similar situation (48 years old, aortic valve replacement). After much thought, prayer, and research I decided on a tissue valve. My surgeon is really impressed with the new generation of porcine valves, and thinks I could...

Atrial Flutter Atrial Flutter Sorry I wasn't too clear on my first post, but was still a little freaked out about the whole thing. The doctor didn't really tell me the difference between the two. He just showed me the peaks on the EKG chart, and told me how the two look different. He didn't...

Hi, I was wondering if anyone has had a problem like this. I had my surgery 4 weeks ago and seem to be healing pretty well. In the last 8-10 days I noticed some swelling on my sturnum above my incision. I started to experience a little pain in the sturnum area and just figured this was part...

Well, I am 3 1/2 weeks post-surgery and was cruising along pretty well, when I woke up the other morning with a heart rate of 160. I was pretty nervous, and wasn't sure if I should go to the emergency room because the cardio's office didn't open for a few hours. I held off and the doctor's...

Tests Tests Hello bonbon. I would not have surgery without first having an echo, a TEE, and a heart catheterization. Combined, these 3 tests will give you a very good picture of your valve function. Also, the heart cath will give the Drs. a good look at your coronary arteries, and if you...