Aortic valve replacement in real time. Ch 5 in UK

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libra rising

Well-known member
Joined
Mar 8, 2018
Messages
49
Location
England
A 69 yr old is having his aorta replaced. On Channel 5 right now. Recorded in real time. This is NOT my recent procedure, which was minimally invasive, but rather is a sternotomy.
This may interest the medically curious.
Those of a nervous disposition should look away now.
Geoff
 
Paleowoman;n885743 said:
Was it good Geoff ?

I haven't seen it all yet, but found what I saw fascinating. To see the hardened calcified valve leaflets, and the replacement valve (which they 'sized' in theatre) was educational.
As well as aortas not be normally shaped, they also saw genetics playing a big part in stenosis. I'd better warn my daughters !
Geoff
 
libra rising;n885745 said:
I haven't seen it all yet, but found what I saw fascinating. To see the hardened calcified valve leaflets, and the replacement valve (which they 'sized' in theatre) was educational.
That's interesting. My replacement aortic valve was 'sized' in theatre and it turns out to be too small for my body size, hence I have patient prosthesis mismatch. Did Mr Kulvinder Lall mention anything about the patient's body size ? I hasten to add he wasn't my surgeon but he is a surgeon who I was subsequently recommended to see. I saw another of the Barts surgeons in the end.

I wish I could watch Cathup but we haven't got a TV licence so are unable to. Big shame as we used to watch Rugby Union on iPlayer on computer but once the Beeb decided you needed a licence even to watch programmes later on computer we have been in the dark :(
 
Paleowoman;n885752 said:
I wish I could watch Cathup but we haven't got a TV licence so are unable to. Big shame as we used to watch Rugby Union on iPlayer on computer but once the Beeb decided you needed a licence even to watch programmes later on computer we have been in the dark :(

Surely you can watch non-BBC online ?
I found registering for My5 a breeze. Sizing is done at 36m 34s in.
Geoff
 
I found it interesting, the replacement valve was a tissue valve

A few points stood out to me, i didn't realise we have extra stitches in the aorta where the bypass cannula was fitted .

the wall thickness of the aorta is thicker and looks more robust than i imagined

& the sternal wire fitting looks very industrial
 
DH had to go out to take DS to the bus stop and I took the opportunity to watch the beginning of the surgery, (DH being too squeamish) and wow - it's really fantastic, really amazing, and wow, wow for me also is that the cardiac surgeon I'm under, or rather who I saw last year for surgical assessment and who will do my surgery when the time comes is the one giving the extra commentry: Mr Neil Roberts !

The whole thing is so fascinating and the way it's explained.

libra rising Thanks for finding that about the TV Licence !
 
There's another program/operation tonight. Tonight it's knee surgery. I heard Nicky Campbell say we'd hear more about the heart patient's progress.
Geoff
 
Thanks for posting about the programme Geoff - I had missed this in the TV schedules and have just watched it on their Catch-Up service.

Particularly brave of the surgical team to do it live in front of the cameras, and I thought Channel 5 did a professional, non-sensationalised job of it - well done to them.

Also interesting to see the roles of all the nurses etc. I had my operation about 4 years ago, and previously thought I would not have liked to watch this operation before having it, but now it all seemed so calm and slick I think people awaiting their own heart surgery might well find it reassuring to watch.
 
Just trying to write some more about the surgery as I've just finished watching the rest of it, but for some reason my message is marked as spam even though there is not one link in it nor one profanity. So I'll try and break the message up and see what happens. There were some particularly interesting thins which were explained.

The colour of the heart is mostly yellow.That is fat and is perfectly normal, it helps with the heart’s metabolism and insulates and cushions it aginst movement.

They keep giving cardioplegia around every 20 minutes during bypass as the heart is determined to pump, it would pump even if taken out of the body and put in a petri dish ! So the cardioplegia stops it by changing the chemical balance. They also use slush (slushed ice) to cool the heart so it won’t beat, they just literally place some slush onto the heart.

When they put the new valve in place, after the sutures are all sewn in place, the valve is parachuted, that’s the expression they use, down the lines of sutures. The sutures holding the valve in place and the sutures used to close the aorta stay there permanently, they do not dissolve.
 
The sutures closing the aorta are mattress sewn to prevent leaks after surgery - something I always wondered how they stop as the pressure/force of blood in the aorta is very high.

They have to de-air the heart near the end of surgery as air enters the heart during surgery which would be dangerous if allowed to stay - to de-air the surgeon shakes the patient to jiggle the air out by dislodging the air bubbles ! It looks quite rough but apparently isn’t.

The surgery is definitely team work, they work very fast but all in the theatre seemed completely calm. The most tense time for them is when the patient comes off bypass and the heart starts beating on its own.
 
I don’t have a TV either but managed to watch it on my phone (!) via Channel 5’s app.

It was fascinating to watch from the perspective of someone still awaiting possible future surgery (me). I watched the complete procedure. Was truly remarkable. Such extraordinary skills and team work. And seemingly no complications, so a relatively straightforward op and heart bypass machine time period.

It would be interesting to see how the patient progresses in the coming days.

Apparently, they’ll be an update from the heart surgeon involved re the patient’s progress during tonight’s scheduled live operation (tonight’s procedure will show someone having a tumour removed from their bowel).
 

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