Hello from the post-op side

[Dan Zulu]

Today I was discharged from UCLA after a successful David valve-sparing root replacement. Now I 'm looking forward to healing up and getting back into a regular routine.

 

[Dan Zulu]

If anyone has questions or needs encouragement feel free to ask.

 

[Duffey]

Hi Dan, glad to read that you've been discharged from the hospital and are officially on the fast track to recovery. Best wishes for an uneventful post-op experience! Mary

 

[epstns]

So - they gave you the boot! Congratulations on your success and thanks for coming around to tell the others how things went. You can only imagine how important it is for folks in The Waiting Room to hear from those of us who went before them.

 

[Dan Zulu]

The most useful statement I can make to those in the waiting room is to make informed decisions about how long you stay there. I had conflicting imaging of my root aneurysm in December 2013, and new June 2014 imaging on top notch equipment voting for the larger of the diameters. My surgeon had not seen an aneurysm my size that remained the same size, so surgery was inevitable at some point. Additionally two studies showed many dissections at less than 5.0 cm even in non Marfan, normal leaflet patients, so I decided there was no benefit to waiting longer than I already had. I'm now home, my heart is doing great, and as soon as my throat gets over the insult of intubation I 'll be great. No intense pain, no suffering, just patience to get through the body's adjustment after surgery.