I'm Alive!

[Kevin M]

I missed you guys.

Well, I made it. I had my AVR on Tues July 3rd and got home that Sunday.

It's taken me a while to get my web access set up at home, but I'm all set now.

Everything went Ok. I've had no complications aside from overtiring myself because I think I'm Superman.

The op took longer than expected (6.5 hours). Partially because of the typical re-op scarring and also because they found my ascending aorta to be dilated and they corrected that too. I have no idea what that means since everytime I wanted to ask the doctor, I was messed up or sleepy. I'm going to look it up.

They took me off the coumadin a few days post-op and now I'm on the baby aspirin, a small amount of beta-blocker and pain killers.

It's good to be home. We have a homecare setup here where you get discharged early and a nurse comes to your house for a 1/2 hour or so to check your vitals, etc..

They pulled my drainage tube (3 of the buggers this time) stitches yesterday and now I'm hopefully done.

Thanks for all your support leading up to this surgery. It made things far easier to deal with.

I will try to return the favour over time...
Kev

 

[Nancy]

Hi Kevin

Hi Kevin

That's great news. You sound like you feel pretty darned good. So glad everything is coming along for you.

 

[Dan O'Brien]

Great news Kevin. Welcome back and rest up. Enjoy the rest of the summer.

 

[Hank]

Great Recovery Time Ahead

Great Recovery Time Ahead

Hey Kevin,

For some reason I have a ffeling that your recovery is going to be one of the lightspeed recoveries.

Just do me a favor and don't sneeze. That and my wife making me laugh real hard we're definately the most painful.

Thanks for keeping us posted. Don't forget to keep notes on different parts of your experience so we can get more info on the personal stories pages. I know - always thinking of the site.

Speedy recovery my friend.

 

[Kevin M]

Longest Personal Story Ever

Longest Personal Story Ever

Don't worry, Hank, I've kept ample notes!
Both with my first op and this one, I wrote down everything I went through in a Journal. I found it therapeutic. The result is about 60 pages for my first go around and I've already hit that without writing any post-op words for this most recent procedure.

One of these days I'll get around to condensing them to a more usable version for the purpose of posting a personal story.
Kev

 

[Scottie]

Hey Kevin

Hey Kevin

Hey Kevin ...delighted to hear that you are through to the other side and well ....hope your progress continues in leaps and bounds ...take care of yourself
Scottie

 

[hensylee]

Welcome Home! We missed you and you were in my thoughts the whole time. Always enjoy your posts and want to hear about your next steps to GOOD HEALTH! Keep your pillow handy - even in the bathroom! God bless

 

[Tammy]

Kevin -
Its great to hear you are doing so well. Now kick back and take advantage of this time. Relax and get better!!
You are a pro at this now with number 2 under your belt.
Take Care.
Tammy

 

[Peachy]

Glad everything went well for you. I am just new here and think it's great how everyone keeps in touch with each others progress. It's a comfort to have so many people who know what you are going through. All the best.

 

[Jean]

Kevin

Kevin

Way to go, Kevin! Keep on healing and remember to be good to yourself. You are going to be feeling so much better soon, of course you know that from the first time. Take care.

 

[hensylee]

Kevin, don't know if you know, but there is an adult aspirin of 81 mg (same as baby aspirin) without flavor and that you don't have to chew. That's what I take.

 

[Kevin M]

to hensylee

to hensylee

I looked at the aspirin closer. I think it must be similar to what you're talking about because it's coated and requires no chewing and it says 81MG on the bottle.

I think someone just called it baby aspirin and I didn't think anymore of it.

I'm hoping they are going to take me off the aspirin next month, but even if they don't - it's a tiny inconvenience.
Kev

 

[Dianne]

Hi Kevin,

Belated congratulations on your successful surgery and your return home. Glad to hear everything went OK, despite the long surgery. You sound like your feeling preety good!
Dianne

 

[Zazzy]

Absolutely GREAT NEWS Kevin!!! Hope your recovery goes smoothly.

Zazzy

P.S. Did you kick anyone when they pulled the tubes out???? I did... got my surgeon's PA a good one! hee hee

 

[Kevin M]

To Zazzy

To Zazzy

No kick this time, I was lucky! I had a fellow who knew what he was doing and despite the fact that I had three drainage tubes this time, it wasn't as bad as my first surgery. That time, I had someone who was inexperienced and took about three tugs to get the tubes out. The pain seemed to go on for 10 minutes.

This time, the pain was tolerable and short in duration.

I never kicked any of them before, but I barfed all over a nurse. I felt awful, particularly because I have no idea what could've been in my stomach because of course I had fasted for 12 hours prior to the operation. I felt so bad for her. I guess it's part of their job, but geeze, that's a pretty yucky occapational hazard!

I bet there are a lot of us 'health-care personnel abusers' out there!



Kev

 

[ALCapshaw]

Hi Kevin,

Congratulations on a successful surgery.

I'm curious about your selection of the Stentless Porcine Valve (SPV).

I'm leaning towards the Bovine Pericardial Valve but realize it has a somewhat more narrow opening (1.3 square cm I believe) and of course limited durability (12 years and counting).

Do you know the opening area and projected durability of the SPV?

Best wishes for a continued good recovery.

'AL'

 

[srwieland]

Great news, Kevin. You're example is an encouragement to all those who may need further surgeries.

Your description of the drainage tube removal brought back some ugly memories! The physician assistant told me to hold my breath but I was so shocked when she just yanked it all of a sudden that I gasped and sucked in a bunch of air. Fortunately, it didn't complicate the situation, but, almost!! I was a little more ready for what was going to happen when she removed the second one. Those wounds (like huge bullet holes) took the longest to heal and were the most sore. The foot-long incision was nothing in comparison.

I didn't barf on a nurse, but I did barf on my first morning home because of some real yucky mucus that had formed and drained into my stomach. I wonder if something similar wasn't what was irritating your stomach.

Anyway, glad to have you on this side of the mountain and I wish you a continued excellent and speedy recovery. Keep us posted.

 

[Kevin M]

To Al: Choice of SPV (long)

To Al: Choice of SPV (long)

Al, to be honest, I didn't really explore the bovine products at all. My surgeon never mentioned them as an alternative and he was pushing the SPV pretty confidently.

I do not know the opening for the SPV and am not really familiar with the technical side of it.

The SPV I got was a 25mm Medtronic Freestyle Valve if that helps at all.

I guess I'm a bit naive when it comes to some of this stuff.

For me, I was really comparing the homograft vs. SPV vs. mechanical.

The homograft was out because the one they put in me in '90 calcified and was leaking pretty badly. I don't know how they pre-treat the homografts these days, but I guess calcification has been a problem and that's why my surgeon didn't want to put another one in there.

Part of my decision re: SPV vs. Mechanical of course had to do with durability.

This having been my second AVR, I was concerned about future surgeries due to the increased risks due to scarring, connective tissue, etc.

Despite this and the lack of long term data on SPV's, my concern of coumadin and all that goes with it were still enough to sway me towards the SPV.

My surgeon says he expects the SPV to last 20-25 years. Maybe even through my lifetime. I rolled my eyes when I heard this because that's what my first surgeon said about the homograft. My expectation is for it to wear out in 10-15 years and I am hopeful that techniques and technologies will have improved and provide more options.

The doc said that the SPV is being discussed favourably in all the conferences and seminars he's attended over the past year or two.

Of course, part of having a successful surgery is the skill of the surgeon with the technique in question. My guy had a series of about 90 SPV's under his belt, which made me comfortable with this procedure, considering it's supposed to be a little more complicated that a more typical mechanical or stented valve.

When I did research on the SPV, I found a lot of shortterm data supporting minimal to no calcification over 7 years. There was a smattering of early 10 year data, but it didn't seem to tell much.

Virtually all of the shortterm (5 year or less) data showed excellent results in most areas or the ones that I understood anyway.

When they finally come out with a biological that can last a lifetime, I think many of us will rejoice. Unfortunately, it sounds like it could still be a while away, but we can always hope.
Kev