3 Weeks Post Surgery - some complications

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L

lgurevitch

Member
Joined
Mar 24, 2009
Messages
24
Location
Atlanta, GA, USA
Hello All,
I have been a long time reader of these boards but only posted for the first time the day before my AVR surgery on July 8. My recovery is going pretty well and I am gaining my strength back. I have been off the pain pills for about a week now. My appetitive has returned and am walking about a mile a day.

I have experienced some complications or setbacks and, from what I can tell by reading the other posts, they are somewhat "common" or "normal".
1) I developed Pleurisy mostly due to extreme fluid retention post surgery. It was quite painful to take a deep breath and my cardiologist sent me to the ER last week so they could rule out blood clots and pneumonia (which they did). He put me back on lasix and the pleurisy seems to be improving.
2) I am anemic, most likely due to the blood I got during and after my surgery (9 units) so the doc put me on Iron supplements.
3) I just had an echo at my cardiologists and apparently my aortic (pig) valve has a small leak, he said it could be post op normal leakage but it looks a little more than that and he wants me to have a TEE in the next couple of days and a CT scan in the next week or so to make sure one of my stitches hasn't come loose or something like that.
4) The CT scan I had in the ER showed a thickening of the aortic root and the doc wants to see what's going on there (with the TEE and CT scan). He said it could be due to healing after surgery.
5) I am experiencing heart palpitations somewhat regularly. The doc wants me to wear a 24 hour monitor to see what's going on there.
6) My last blood work at the cardiologist showed that I was "hypothyroid" which is nothing I have ever heard before about myself. The doc thinks this could be related to my body adjusting to the shock of surgery and wants to re-test in a couple of weeks or month.

So, is there anyone out there who has experienced any of these complications (specifically the leaky valve post surgery). I did a search on the board and could not really find anything about this.

Thanks for your input and support.

Liz Gurevitch
Age 43
Aortic Valve Replacement on July 8, 2009 at Emory University Hospital by Dr. Edward Chen
 
Most of these are normal; in fact, in Hamilton where I had my surgery, they test for insulin reactions, and I got insulin needles for a day or two, until it straightened out. I also got a prescription for iron (and 12 other things, too, including potassium, aspirin and various other OTC things.)

Hang in there, it seems your doc is doing as much as he can to find out what is going on, and you are barely 3 weeks out . . . some people are still in hospital at that stage!
 
Hi Liz,


Yes, I had effusion one week after surgery. I had a pericardial window prodcedure for this. After that I developed pericarditis. (inflamation of the hear sack) This of course was related to the surgery. It was extremely painlful (plurisey symptoms) to walk or to breath. The cardio tried every known med for this, but nothing worked execept prednisone. The bad news though, everytime I get off the prednizone the symptoms return. I am now taking 5mg of prednizone daily. I may need to take this for the rest of my life. I also developed a bit of fluid in my lungs,after surgery. I am currently having irregular heartbead, a fluttering on and off. The cardio says this is fairly common for valve replacement patients. They did a 24 hr holter monitor, and he is not concerned with that. My stress test was, according to the Dr. "just perfect". My last echo was normal. I am exercising and walking 3miles per day, about 5 days a week. So I guess you could say I am doing well! Oh, I had my surgery Feb 2008.

Good luck to you, and please keep us updated!
 
Liz you sound exactly like someone who just had heart surgery.

The most bothering thing is the leaking around the valve. Normally, as time goes by, it seals up on it's own, but apparently yours is leaking a little more then normal. Wouldn't get scared about it, but it's good to watch it.

The rest is par for the course. It takes a whole lot of time to recover.
 
Thank you all for your responses. I am trying not to get too worked up over any of this. I am also trying to focus on the positive and not dwell on the negative. As most of you probably know, it's not easy to do that all the time.

I am scheduled to have the TEE on Monday so we'll see what happens after that.

Liz
 
Yes, please keep us posted on your progress on all counts.

Can only speak of one of the items on your list. Palpitations. Mine came on like a vengeance and scared me, eventually, since they got so strong. They were not A-Fib (Atrial Fibrillation) which is what they are probably checking you for. Those would need a certain kind of medication, is all, I think. Mine I had experienced oftentimes prior to surgery, but not this strong!! Mine turned out to be totally benign PVC's (premature ventricular contractions). I went on beta blockers (Atenolol) and it whipped them into control. They are so pesky and annoying! It did take awhile for them to be gone, and I had to psychologically convince myself that my heart was just dancing for joy :D and stop thinking about them. Also, caffeine, chocolates etc. trigger mine, so watch your intake.

The leaky valve might very well just be your response to increased blood flow and mend itself over time. But, I am very glad that your doctor sees fit to look very carefully. I hope that all turns out well for you. We are here for you, regardless, and you will be fine, regardless, so "stiff upper lip" and let us know what the TEE tells you.

Very best wishes. Hang in there! It can sometimes be a little bumpy! Otherwise sounds like you are very strong and recovering nicely.

Marguerite
 
Hi Liz .... I had the anemia and A-Fib (same as palpitations, not sure?) ... For the anemia it was back to the hospital for three units and then back again to be converted back to normal rhythm ... Smooth sailing since then ... I hope you get it all resolve soon....:cool:
 
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