Dorsai
Well-known member
On Wednesday 10/21 I had a valve-sparing procedure by Dr. Chen at Emory University here in Atlanta, to replace an aortic root aneurysm. I thought I'd share a few notes on what I went through and how my recovery is going.
On the day of surgery we had to be at the hospital in a waiting area at 0530. A little after 0600 they called us back (my wife was with me) to begin a prep process. All of my clothes and personal items were put in a bag, and I was given a standard issue hospital gown. Different people came by to put a wrist band on me, confirm who I was, and why I was there. After that came the clipping - apparently they don't shave you any more, just trim *all* your hair from neck to knees short. After that was done the anesthetist came back and started drugging me up, and sent my wife - that was the last I remember. After that several lines were inserted, and my wife came back and chatted with me for a while - or so I am told. At 0745 I am wheeled off to surgery, where I will remain for a number of hours.
Apparently my valve didn't want to do as Dr. Chen told it to, so they had a bit of a struggle - which he eventually won. He takes great pride in his work, and doesn't like it when things don't go as they're supposed to. I have no complaints with this attitude.
Early evening I arrive in ICU, where they remove the ventilator tube. I don't recall this at all, which suits me fine. I vaguely remember my wife coming in briefly at some point, along with my parents, but that first evening is a blur.
I'm in the ICU the rest of Wednesday and all day Thursday, and transferred to my regular room on Friday. Why I was in the ICU for that long, I have no idea. I wasn't in any post-surgical distress (other than some air around a lung or something, which they corrected easily enough), and my dominant recollection of the time is just being uncomfortable - not in pain, necessarily, but I couldn't find a comfortable position to relax.
Friday morning is transfer to the regular room. Add boredom to discomfort. I don't really have the attention span to watch TV, and there's nothing good on anyway. I discover that I am better off in the recliner than in the bed, so I move into the chair and 'nest' there. I discover if I position the chair next to the bed and the table next to the chair (everything is on wheels, so this is no real chore), I can keep everything I need within reach, with the bathroom only a short distance away. I'm told by the nurse that my first task is to start peeing by 6pm, which I in fact accomplish before 4pm. I'm able to walk back and forth to the bathroom with no difficulty.
I believe Friday is when they started feeding me...and let me say, the food at Emory is awful. I doubt I ate a full meal's worth in total the rest of my time there, it was that bad. I forced myself to eat a little of everything, however, because I knew I needed to. But I suspect this caused problems in reaching my next goal, having a bowel movement. I eventually produced some gas and some rumblings that satisfied the staff, but it wasn't until today (day 6) that I had what I would consider a proper movement.
When I first got to my room they were talking about me going home 'Monday or Tuesday', then they started talking just about 'Monday', and eventually they started mumbling about 'tomorrow or Monday' - apparently they were happy with my progress. Sunday morning I asked my nurse if we could go for a discharge that day, since I wasn't sleeping well at all (despite regular applications of Percocet or morphine) in the room and thought I'd do better at home. She agreed, and promised to take it up with the doctor.
She was good to her word, because the doctor came by not long after, looked at all my various holes and incisions (they'd been pulling lines out of me for three days by that point, and I was down to just one IV line in the right hand by then), agreed that they were good, and further agreed that I didn't seem to have anything keeping me in the hospital. He scheduled me for a final X-ray, and said if that showed no problems I was free to go.
The three hours before they were able to administer it may have been the longest three hours in the hospital - it took seemingly forever. But eventually it was done, nothing untoward was seen, and it was time to go home. I was wheeled back to my room, my final IV line was removed, and my wife (who had showed up by then) and I began packing up.
Soon enough we were packed, I signed the discharge papers, and was given a stack of prescriptions to have filled, along with lengthy instructions on what to do and not to do, and how to contact the surgery team should any problems arise. I was told to schedule a follow-up visit with my regular cardiologist in a week's time, and was shown the door.
The ride home was uneventful, but tiring - and uncomfortable, what with trying to protect the main incision from the seatbelt. After saying hello to everyone at home I immediately went to the bedroom, where my family had positioned our glider, and took a short nap. That evening I got up, had a small meal of real food (thank GOD), socialized for a few minutes as I was able, then went to sleep in the glider.
I still am not sleeping well, but I've slept a little better each day - I think I got several good hours last night. As of now I am in no real pain, and haven't been taking much pain medication. I'm going to sleep in the glider again tonight, but I may try the bed soon...I was able to get into and out of it today without as much pain as when I was in the hospital.
The only real issues I have at this point are peripheral ones...my left little and ring finger are numb, and there's a sharp ache under my right arm - both consequences of being on the operating table for so long. They're both getting better, so I am not worried about them - on Friday, my entire left hand was numb. I might be retaining a little water, but the amount isn't increasing - so again, I am not too worried about it.
That's really about it to this point - all in all, it hasn't been too bad. Tedious and tiresome to be sure, but that's about it. Further updates as events warrant.
On the day of surgery we had to be at the hospital in a waiting area at 0530. A little after 0600 they called us back (my wife was with me) to begin a prep process. All of my clothes and personal items were put in a bag, and I was given a standard issue hospital gown. Different people came by to put a wrist band on me, confirm who I was, and why I was there. After that came the clipping - apparently they don't shave you any more, just trim *all* your hair from neck to knees short. After that was done the anesthetist came back and started drugging me up, and sent my wife - that was the last I remember. After that several lines were inserted, and my wife came back and chatted with me for a while - or so I am told. At 0745 I am wheeled off to surgery, where I will remain for a number of hours.
Apparently my valve didn't want to do as Dr. Chen told it to, so they had a bit of a struggle - which he eventually won. He takes great pride in his work, and doesn't like it when things don't go as they're supposed to. I have no complaints with this attitude.
Early evening I arrive in ICU, where they remove the ventilator tube. I don't recall this at all, which suits me fine. I vaguely remember my wife coming in briefly at some point, along with my parents, but that first evening is a blur.
I'm in the ICU the rest of Wednesday and all day Thursday, and transferred to my regular room on Friday. Why I was in the ICU for that long, I have no idea. I wasn't in any post-surgical distress (other than some air around a lung or something, which they corrected easily enough), and my dominant recollection of the time is just being uncomfortable - not in pain, necessarily, but I couldn't find a comfortable position to relax.
Friday morning is transfer to the regular room. Add boredom to discomfort. I don't really have the attention span to watch TV, and there's nothing good on anyway. I discover that I am better off in the recliner than in the bed, so I move into the chair and 'nest' there. I discover if I position the chair next to the bed and the table next to the chair (everything is on wheels, so this is no real chore), I can keep everything I need within reach, with the bathroom only a short distance away. I'm told by the nurse that my first task is to start peeing by 6pm, which I in fact accomplish before 4pm. I'm able to walk back and forth to the bathroom with no difficulty.
I believe Friday is when they started feeding me...and let me say, the food at Emory is awful. I doubt I ate a full meal's worth in total the rest of my time there, it was that bad. I forced myself to eat a little of everything, however, because I knew I needed to. But I suspect this caused problems in reaching my next goal, having a bowel movement. I eventually produced some gas and some rumblings that satisfied the staff, but it wasn't until today (day 6) that I had what I would consider a proper movement.
When I first got to my room they were talking about me going home 'Monday or Tuesday', then they started talking just about 'Monday', and eventually they started mumbling about 'tomorrow or Monday' - apparently they were happy with my progress. Sunday morning I asked my nurse if we could go for a discharge that day, since I wasn't sleeping well at all (despite regular applications of Percocet or morphine) in the room and thought I'd do better at home. She agreed, and promised to take it up with the doctor.
She was good to her word, because the doctor came by not long after, looked at all my various holes and incisions (they'd been pulling lines out of me for three days by that point, and I was down to just one IV line in the right hand by then), agreed that they were good, and further agreed that I didn't seem to have anything keeping me in the hospital. He scheduled me for a final X-ray, and said if that showed no problems I was free to go.
The three hours before they were able to administer it may have been the longest three hours in the hospital - it took seemingly forever. But eventually it was done, nothing untoward was seen, and it was time to go home. I was wheeled back to my room, my final IV line was removed, and my wife (who had showed up by then) and I began packing up.
Soon enough we were packed, I signed the discharge papers, and was given a stack of prescriptions to have filled, along with lengthy instructions on what to do and not to do, and how to contact the surgery team should any problems arise. I was told to schedule a follow-up visit with my regular cardiologist in a week's time, and was shown the door.
The ride home was uneventful, but tiring - and uncomfortable, what with trying to protect the main incision from the seatbelt. After saying hello to everyone at home I immediately went to the bedroom, where my family had positioned our glider, and took a short nap. That evening I got up, had a small meal of real food (thank GOD), socialized for a few minutes as I was able, then went to sleep in the glider.
I still am not sleeping well, but I've slept a little better each day - I think I got several good hours last night. As of now I am in no real pain, and haven't been taking much pain medication. I'm going to sleep in the glider again tonight, but I may try the bed soon...I was able to get into and out of it today without as much pain as when I was in the hospital.
The only real issues I have at this point are peripheral ones...my left little and ring finger are numb, and there's a sharp ache under my right arm - both consequences of being on the operating table for so long. They're both getting better, so I am not worried about them - on Friday, my entire left hand was numb. I might be retaining a little water, but the amount isn't increasing - so again, I am not too worried about it.
That's really about it to this point - all in all, it hasn't been too bad. Tedious and tiresome to be sure, but that's about it. Further updates as events warrant.
!
