bookjp's surgery

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Peggyanne

Active member
Joined
Feb 19, 2009
Messages
27
Location
Swartz Creek, MI
Well , here we are at U of M after weeks of waiting. They took Jim in for surgery at 7:00 am. They said they had the operating room reserved for about 7 1/2 hours. When we went in to see him before they took him... he was most concerned about the ventilator. He kept telling them that was the thing worrying him the most. Do they usually take those out fairly soon? We will keep you up to date on his recovery....thanks again for the well wishes!!
 
I'll be moving this to post surgery for the future. Usually, if all goes well, he'll be extubated before he's fully awake. They will not take it out until he can breath for himself. Some of the drugs they use paralyzes the diaphragm and it may take a while to wear off, but once he can maintain his own airway, out it comes.

You'll most likely hear that he's in recovery around 11 or 12. Meanwhile, try to relax and be sure to get something to eat.
 
Hey! THanks for the update, please keep posting!!! I'm with Jim on the ventilator and don't want to wake up with that thing in!!! I'm praying for you both!!
 
Hey Peggyanne,
I will be praying for you guys. I have a strong gag reflex and I also worried about that darn ventilator. When I woke up after surgery, my husband told me not to talk that the vent was still in, I was so dopey I didn't care. Next time I woke up it was out, so I think things will be fine. I will keep checking back for updates. Take it slow and don't forget to breathe. ;)
 
Dyna said:
1 other thing & I think I posted it in my other thread. After they took me off the ventilator, I had some water which tasted great. Then I had a little bit more because my mouth was so dry it hurt. Wasn't long after that & I threw up. Nurses told me it's a quite common side effect of coming out of the anesthesia.
Click to expand...

After my surgery and for 24 hours, I only got small chips of ice!! No water no matter how much I begged for it...they did not want me to throw up!
 
Best of luck to Jim. I hope his experience is as easy as mine. The vent was uncomfortable but I only had it in for half an hour after i woke up. When they pulled it, I felt great, Never got sick or threw up or anything like that.
I'm sorry I just missed his PM... I wish i could have told him good luck before the surgery!
Book, baby! PM me after your first sneeze. We'll talk!

David
 
I remember when I woke up I had the ventilator in. I was told beforehand just take a deep breath and go back to sleep, there would be plenty of anasthesia left so that's what I did. When I woke up again later they checked to see if I was breathing on my own yet.

That was interesting and a lot scary. I wasn't breathing yet and when they disconnected the tube or plugged or whatever it is they do, I remember feeling like a guppy in a fish bowl. Searching for air. Well it seemed like an eternity but I am sure it wasn't more than about 5 seconds before they hooked it back up. I laugh about it now but at that moment it was as the previous poster said a feeling of total helplessness and dependence.

When they took the vent out it really was no big deal. Slipped right out and was actually a very good feeling to be able to close my mouth and move around a little.

Best of luck and I look forward to seeing how it went
 
Bookjp's surgery

Bookjp's surgery

His long dreaded surgery is finally over! The surgeon at U of M said that it was the worst calcified aortic valve that they had ever seen. It was so calcified that it was pressing against his mitral valve. They said that they had to carve it out and then replace it. They also repaired the area of the aneurysm and did not have to put him in "the deep freeze". I haven't seen him yet today, but his wife and kids were feeding him ice chips in the ICU last night. The pulled the vent tube out after a few hours (that was his big worry). So far..so good. If all goes well the surgeon is expecting him to go home in 5 days. He said that his valve should last about 15 years, but if he smokes it could or would knock 5 years off that.
 
bookjp

bookjp

Jim was in surgery for 7 1/2 hours. They surgeon said that it took longer than expected because of how badly calcified the valve was. None of the surgical team could believe that he had no symptoms....they were astounded.
 
Peggyanne said:
Jim was in surgery for 7 1/2 hours. They surgeon said that it took longer than expected because of how badly calcified the valve was. None of the surgical team could believe that he had no symptoms....they were astounded.
Click to expand...

And that my dear friends, is why people fall over dead sometimes.
 
bookjp's recovery

bookjp's recovery

Just a question.....Jim is still in ICU after yesterday's surgery. They want to get him into a chair today, but can't yet because of his poor urine output...there doesn't seem to be much and is pretty dark....is that a normal problem after these surgeries? Everything else seems to be going ok....Thanks for any comments
 
If there is any question about urine output, they should be consulting a kidney specialist. There is a good chance that his kidneys are just being sluggish from surgery. I know I didn't have any output and they were very concerned, but a little fix me up something cocktail the kidney doc put in my IV changed the whole ballgame.
 
In chair and walking

In chair and walking

Jim's urine output is still a problem, but 24 hours after surgery he sat in a chair for hours and walked a good distance in the ICU. Except for the "PEE" problem all seems to be going well. His wife, Jody, just called and said if he hasn't gone more by tomorrow am, they may have to put the iv back in the neck artery and possibly do an echo to make sure no fluid is building up around his heart??
 
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