Advice on followup care when going home to another state.

[AquaJeff]

My Mom will be 81 in August. On June 9th she had her aortic valve replaced (bovine) and a quadruple bypass. On June 13th she had a pacemaker installed. She was released to the hospital on June 16th and has been recovering at my house. She is doing pretty well just 4 weeks post surgery. At some point she will go home to Lehighton, Pennsylvania.
She had her surgery where I live in NY. I'm a little over 3 hours away from her home in PA.

I will be bringing her back for follow-ups but I?m worried she should have a cardiologist at least where she lives in case of an emergency.
Does she need follow up care in PA?
What info do I need for her doctors there?
She doesn?t have a cardiologist, surgeon or electrocardiologist there. Does she need all of them?

Any thoughts?

 

[Ross]

Get her records if you can, her new Doctor can get them for himself, but she should have copies for herself or for you to hold on too. See definately needs to have a Cardiologist see her. If she has a primary care Doctor, discuss it with him/her, then go cardio shopping.

 

[hall]

I agree. She needs her doctors where she lives too. That's great you are taking care of her. Hope everything works out and she has a good recovery.

Deb

 

[ALCapshaw2]

I second Ross's suggestions.

Ask the (Surgical) Hospital for a copy of her records to take to her Primary Care Physician. Hopefully they will not charge you for those copies. Be sure to get a copy of the "Surgical Report" which will detail everything the surgeon did while he was 'in there'.

Hopefully her Primary Care Physician (PCP) can recommend a local Cardiologist to follow her recovery and regular (annual) checkups.

 

[Lynlw]

I agree she needs a local cardiologist. I would not worry about having a local surgeon, but it might be helpful to have a local EP too since she has a pacemaker. Which hospital in the Lehigh Valley would she use for the ER? IF it were me, I would try to get local docs that have privalages at THAT hospital, that way IF she ever needs to go to the ER, she will have doctors that know her.There are some pretty good heart centers in that general area.

 

[Duff Man]

Hey I don't mean to steal your thread Jeff, but I've been wondering something along these lines and it reminded me:

Let's say I stroke out after surgery... I'm in a coma indefinitely and the wife wants to bring me home. How do they get me there? Seems like they would be more likely to pull the plug just because of the inconvenience...

 

[AquaJeff]

Thanks Everyone!

Thanks Everyone!

Thanks everyone, that?s kind of what I thought but I needed to ask. The "surgical report" I wouldn't have thought of asking for that. I will get everything and make an appointment to see her primary physician in PA and bring it all.

Deb, thanks for your well wishes.

Lynlw, My Mom isn?t in the Lehigh Valley. She?s about an hour away. I need to figure out where she?ll have to go as far as a hospital is concerned. In Lehighton is a small hospital that we?re not that impressed with. I?ll have to work on that. Any suggestions?

Aaron, I doubt the distance would affect a loved ones decision to ?pull the plug? That?s the least of the factors that would go through my mind.

 

[JodyC]

I live in Ohio but had my surgery in Michigan. I got my surgical and nurses reports and a binder to keep everything in. It was a good thing I did because I found out after I got out that I didn't get a follow up from my surgeon I had to see my regular cardiologist instead. It would be best to try to schedule an appointment as soon as possible as some have quite a wait to get in. She should follow up with someone within 4 weeks to avoid any problems.

Hope all continues to go well.

 

[Jkm7]

I agree she really needs a local cardiologist. Perhaps speaking with her PCP would be a good place to start in deciding which cardio you wish to use. Hope the transition of Mom going home goes smoothly for you and her.