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C

chaconne

Well-known member
Joined
Jun 30, 2011
Messages
410
Location
Southern California
The wife here: Steve is three days post surgery and very alive. The surgeon ended up replacing the root along with the valve and ascending aorta. Chest tubes should come out tomorrow and we expect him to be sent home Friday, the 11th. He has lots of questions to post and is looking forward to getting your input.
 
Great news!!! We look forward to hearing from Steve and we understand the questions; we all had them. Steve, when you get home just remember to walk, eat and sleep and do it over and over. Slow and steady wins the race!:thumbup:
 
Wonderful news......

So happy to hear his surgery went well and he seems to be having a smooth recovery thus far.

All best wishes.
Let us know how you both are doing.
 
Thank you Mrs. Steve for the update. Give him a hug and tell him I think the biggest thing he needs to remember is that this healing is gonna take a little time. Rest, sleep, nourishment and using his spirometer is the best thing he can do. God's Blessing for you and your family.
 
Praise God! I'm glad he is very alive! I can't wait for more update! I'll tell you what, the first several days after surgery I was very alive as well but I didn't know if I wanted to be, I was not feeling good. My recovery was slow and hard and 15 weeks out still recovering all the while going back to work full time at 9 weeks post op including cardiac rehab 3 times a week before work, overtime at work, hour drive to work and back home. Oh yeah and 8 hours of church service on Sundays... all this at 9 weeks, now 15 weeks and still going. Slow and steady wins the race. Get busy living or get busy dying!
 
Thanks for the update! My dad's AVR was supposed to be the same day as Steve's, but was moved to the 9th. We agreed to send each other positive thoughts and prayers. I guess it worked!! Dad is two days post-op, and is still very weak and a bit confused, but is moving to the right direction. Wishing Steve a smooth recovery and all the best to your family.
 
Hey All!

I'm finally here. I got back home yesterday, as expected, and it's nice to be lounging around home instead of hooked up to tubes at the hospital.

Well, OHS was certainly not the grisly slasher experience that I was preparing myself for in the worst case. Surprisingly enough, I can honestly say that the events of the past week did not seem any worse than an average case of the flu with a lot of extra inconveniences.

Waking up out of OHS, the breathing tube was in and I was aware of it, but is seemed small and was not much of an irritation. The most difficult part was coughing it out and that certainly hurt the sternum for a few seconds. I was out of the ICU in 1 day and then 3 days in the hospital.

I was surprised to find out that my aortic annulus was whopping 36mm. There is no mechanical valve on the market that matches this (apparently the biggest is the 33mm St. Jude.) Even so, to respect my wishes, the surgeon still put in the smaller On-X 27/29mm (the largest made by On-X). Hopefully this won't be an issue since it seems the surgeon was comfortable doing this. It just made me realize that messing with things (me insisting on the On-X) can get you unexpected results.

I was very surprised to wake up from surgery and not hear the proverbial ticking in the chest. At first I was wondering if the surgeon decided to put in a tissue valve instead. I wasn't really able to hear the valve until I came home and went into a completely silent room, without any ambient noise. Even then, it manifests mostly as a dull thud which can also sound very much like a dripping faucet (I thought the shower was leaking once).

I've responded well to Warfarin, and seem to be settling on a dose between 2.5 and 5mg for now. Other than that, I feel pretty good now except for the sore chest. I can reach 2500ml on the spirometer and I hope to start walking a lot.

Thanks to all of you for the information, advice, compassion and prayers over the last few months which have allowed me to be better informed and better prepared for my experience.

God bless you all,
-Steve (my wife is Eileen)
 
I'm Back!

I'm Back!

Hey All!

I'm finally here. I got back home yesterday, as expected, and it's nice to be lounging around home instead of hooked up to tubes at the hospital. :thumbup:

Well, OHS was certainly not the grisly slasher experience that I was preparing myself for in the worst case. Surprisingly enough, I can honestly say that the events of the past week did not seem any worse than an average case of the flu with a lot of extra inconveniences.

Waking up out of OHS, the breathing tube was in and I was aware of it, but is seemed small and was not much of an irritation. The most difficult part was coughing it out and that certainly hurt the sternum for a few seconds. I was out of the ICU in 1 day and then 3 days in the hospital.

I was surprised to find out that my aortic annulus was whopping 36mm. There is no mechanical valve on the market that matches this (apparently the biggest is the 33mm St. Jude.) Even so, to respect my wishes, the surgeon still put in the smaller On-X 27/29mm (the largest made by On-X). Hopefully this won't be an issue since it seems the surgeon was comfortable doing this. It just made me realize that messing with things (me insisting on the On-X) can get you unexpected results.:eek2:

I was very surprised to wake up from surgery and not hear the proverbial ticking in the chest. At first I was wondering if the surgeon decided to put in a tissue valve instead. I wasn't really able to hear the valve until I came home and went into a completely silent room, without any ambient noise. Even then, it manifests mostly as a dull thud which can also sound very much like a dripping faucet (I thought the shower was leaking once).

I've responded well to Warfarin, and seem to be settling on a dose between 2.5 and 5mg for now. Other than that, I feel pretty good now except for the sore chest. I can reach 2500ml on the spirometer and I hope to start walking a lot.

Thanks to all of you for the information, advice, compassion and prayers over the last few months which have allowed me to be better informed and better prepared for my experience.

God bless you all,
-Steve (my wife is Eileen)
 
I'm glad things are going so well and better than you expected. People often say that here the wait isthe worst part and it was better thatn they were afraid it would be. I'm glad you are home, it always makes such a difference. Interesting your surgeon choose to give you a smaller valve so you could get the one you wanted.
Take care of your self, eat, sleep breath walk.
Thanks for the update, as great it is to get updates from family, it is always so nice to read the first post from the member themselves
 
This is flippin' great that you are doing so well Steve! It amazes me how some people feel that good shortly after surgery. It seriously took me a month to really start to see some light and even at that it was dim. Please keep us updated often. I'm really thankful that all the prayers going out for you have been heard. This is just great to hear!
 
Steve,
You must be ecstatic (you posted twice!!). Congrats on making it to the other side.
Mrs.Steve must be very very relieved. The spouse is usually the one who goes through a lot more anxiety, IMHO.
 
Thanks for the kind words and all. It's been another week and I'm still recovering good. Went to church for the first time since OHS and did well.

The only thing I wonder about is heart rate. My HR used to be 55-180, now it doesn't drop below 80-90 when I'm sitting around the house. My cardio said not to get it above 130. I monitor this on my walks to make sure it doesn't go over 130. When asleep it may go down as low as 65-70. I suppose it will take time for my heart to get used to the new valve.
 
Steve - Glad things are continuing to go well. I had an elevated heart rate after surgery and it did return to normal with time. My pre-surgery medications were identical to post-surgery so guess I'm a fairly good case study. Resting heart rate pre-surgery was 65, post-surgery it was 90. This continued for several months then started tapering back to normal. At 6 months, resting heart rate was 65 again.
 
This guy Steve just doesn't stop amazing me, church at 2 weeks! I didn't feel up to going to church until 6 weeks after surgery. Heart rate? No big deal, I'm 4 months post op and my heart rate is in the 60's now at rest better than before surgery which was 70-80 at rest. The first month my heart rate after AVR was in the 80-90's range all day long. It should chill out within the next month to 12 months LOL. Glad your doing so well, this surgery is nuts.
 
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Congrats! You and my husband have both had Dr. Yuns talented hands in your chest! Small world. Glad things are going well :)
 
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