I'm new to this site. I'm having mitral valve surgery mid-July.

Shop deals on ebay
Advertise with us
shop deals on amazon
Valve Replacement Forums

Help Support Valve Replacement Forums:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.
P

PJ829

I just wanted to introduce myself. I found out I had a heart murmur about 10 years ago. Since then, it has worsened to mitral valve regurgitation. I have been symptom free for the most part. My cardiologist has been monitoring me with an echo every 6 months. I had a a short episode of rapid heartbeat in November (about 10 minutes); it felt like my heart was just beating hard, not racing though. In April I had the same feeling of a hard heart beat and called an ambulance (per my doctor). I had a heart rate of 206 BPM (50-100 is supposed to be normal). The EMT's gave me a shot of something, in the IV they put in, that brought my heart rate down. Both times it occured, I was relaxing. Anyway, It scared me, so I decided to get a second opinion. I was told I need surgery within the next 3 months. I am scheduled for surgery July 14. I am hoping to have the minimally invasive surgery. I was just wondering if the incision is through the bone. I have been reading through the forums and really appreciate all the information. It makes me more relaxed to have an idea of what to expect.
 
I would like to welcome you to VR.com but I don't have any "for sure" information on the minimally invasive procedure. I think they actually cut into the side and spread the ribs apart to gain access so I don't think there is any bone cutting. I could be wrong tho so you should wait until others chime in.

Stay in touch and we will help you through.
 
welcome to VR, P. You have come along in time to learn much to help you along through surgery. We have a few who had minimally invasive surgery. They will probably be along soon to tell you of their experiences.
 
Dick had minimally invasive surgery for aotic valve replacement. It was through the sternum as is regular valve replacement , but it was a 3-4 inch cut instead of the whole chest. A year and a half later and you can hardly see the scar. He never had any sternum pain, but the rest of recovery was about the same as for those who went the regular route. As his cardiologist told him- "It's like being hit by a Mack truck instead of a 16 wheeler". :) Best wishes to you and use your waiting time to search the forum, ask your questions and get all the information you can- knowledge will help you face this mountain with calm.
 
Well, I had maximally invasive surgery - they split me open like a chicken and replaced my mitral valve with a St. Jude's. Scar isn't bad at all, I think the surgeon was a tailor in a previous life, post-op is a fading unpleasant memory, and Coumadin is just a continuing annoyance.
 
Brand new too

Brand new too

I have just found this site and have been reading for about 30 minutes. Already I feel better!! I have aortic stenosis which they have been following for about five years. Of course it is getting progressively worse and it looks like I will need a replacement within about 6 mos. I'm still trying to decide where to have it and what kind of valve to have (I'm in my fifties). A major fear I have is the immediate post-op. I'm afraid of waking up with the breathing tube still in and going into a panic. Did anyone else have this fear and how did it turn out?

Thanks in advance for any info you can give me.[
 
There's a LOT of pertinent discussion in the Pre-Surgery and Post-Surgery Forums, just browse through looking for interesting topics. Also see the Reference Section or do a search on keywords of interest.

Fear of the breathing tube is a frequent topic of conversation. MANY of us were fortunate to find that it had been pulled before we became fully awake. Many others followed the advice to NOT fight it worked and kept them calm when they discovered it was still in place.

After you've looked around some, feel free to ask more questions as they come to mind. Everyone here is either a SURVIVOR or a family member of a survivor. If we can do it, so can you!

Make yourselves at home.

'AL Capshaw'
 
mitral

mitral

well I will be a survivor soon as June 6th is my date, looking forward to it. Glad to see you found this place.
 
brd said:
I have just found this site and have been reading for about 30 minutes. Already I feel better!! I have aortic stenosis which they have been following for about five years. Of course it is getting progressively worse and it looks like I will need a replacement within about 6 mos. I'm still trying to decide where to have it and what kind of valve to have (I'm in my fifties). A major fear I have is the immediate post-op. I'm afraid of waking up with the breathing tube still in and going into a panic. Did anyone else have this fear and how did it turn out?

Thanks in advance for any info you can give me.[
Click to expand...

Oh boy ... nobody could have had more fear of the breathing tubes than I did!!!! (Those who were around back when I was posting pre surgery may remember. It was panic city for me.) So for starters, I can tell you that for me the fear was much much worse than the actual experience.

I was aware of the breathing tube when I woke up, but not to the extent it really bothered me. I was pretty well doped up (was still affected by the anesthesia, plus all the painkilling drugs, etc.) so I didn't feel any panic at all. The ICU staff will help you breathe WITH the tube. For me it wasn't bad at all.

They will remove the tube as soon as they know you can breathe on your own. After they took mine out I did spend some time (don't know how long, your time perceptions get pretty fuzzy in ICU) with some kind of plastic mask over my nose and (maybe) my mouth (not sure about that). Don't know if it was for oxygen or what -- maybe somebody else knows about that. The mask wasn't uncomfortable -- I kept drifting off to sleep, and they kept waking me up -- for some reason they wanted me awake at that point. As soon as I was able to stay awake for the time period they wanted me to be awake, they took the mask away.

If you are lucky, you will have as great an ICU staff as I had! There was a nurse with me in my cubicle at all times, sometimes two, and an intensivist (a doctor specializing in intensive care) coming in at intervals. I was really nervous about ICU beforehand, hoped I'd be there for as short a time as possible, but when they decided to move me to the regular cardiac ward (some time on the day after the surgery) I asked them to please let me stay where I was.
 
Welcome!!

Welcome!!

Hi! Welcome to the family! I'm pretty sure I had "minimally invasive" surgery to repair my mitral valve 2 weeks ago. Mine was through the sternum, but my incision is only about 4 inches. I couldn't believe how small it was! I can still tell that my sternum is not right, but I sure feel great otherwise! Best wishes to you! If you have ANY questions, do not hestitate to ask! Most of us have been there. :) I'm glad you found this site. It was a godsend for me!

Liza :)
 
Blood sugar elevations with aortic stenosis

Blood sugar elevations with aortic stenosis

Does anyone have any experience or knowledge about whether there is a causal relationship between these two. I have AS and will need an AVR probably this year. Suddenly my BS is getting a little high. I have no other risk factors for diabetes - no fam hx, normal weight, regular exerciser etc. Would love to hear if anyone has thoughts on this. Thanks.
 
Marge said:
Oh boy ... nobody could have had more fear of the breathing tubes than I did!!!! (Those who were around back when I was posting pre surgery may remember. It was panic city for me.) So for starters, I can tell you that for me the fear was much much worse than the actual experience.

I was aware of the breathing tube when I woke up, but not to the extent it really bothered me. I was pretty well doped up (was still affected by the anesthesia, plus all the painkilling drugs, etc.) so I didn't feel any panic at all. The ICU staff will help you breathe WITH the tube. For me it wasn't bad at all.

They will remove the tube as soon as they know you can breathe on your own. After they took mine out I did spend some time (don't know how long, your time perceptions get pretty fuzzy in ICU) with some kind of plastic mask over my nose and (maybe) my mouth (not sure about that). Don't know if it was for oxygen or what -- maybe somebody else knows about that. The mask wasn't uncomfortable -- I kept drifting off to sleep, and they kept waking me up -- for some reason they wanted me awake at that point. As soon as I was able to stay awake for the time period they wanted me to be awake, they took the mask away.

If you are lucky, you will have as great an ICU staff as I had! There was a nurse with me in my cubicle at all times, sometimes two, and an intensivist (a doctor specializing in intensive care) coming in at intervals. I was really nervous about ICU beforehand, hoped I'd be there for as short a time as possible, but when they decided to move me to the regular cardiac ward (some time on the day after the surgery) I asked them to please let me stay where I was.
Click to expand...

Marge your email helped. As I read more it seems like most people are able to handle the breathing tube bit and the anesthesia and pain meds seem to quell the anxiety. This is so helpful for me to think about. Thanks.
 
"minimally invasive procedure"

"minimally invasive procedure"

geebee said:
I would like to welcome you to VR.com but I don't have any "for sure" information on the minimally invasive procedure. I think they actually cut into the side and spread the ribs apart to gain access so I don't think there is any bone cutting. I could be wrong tho so you should wait until others chime in.

Stay in touch and we will help you through.
Click to expand...


I wonder, too, what a "minimally invasive procedure is." My understanding is that it is a smaller incision, but still through the sternum. When I had my coarctation repaired in 1967, they did "cut into the side and spread the ribs apart." (Have others had coarct repairs done differently? I guess it depends on exactly where the coarctation is...) Having not experienced the sternum route yet, I couldn't compare. But in my first visit with my cardiologist/surgeon a year ago, he said that the open heart surgery through the sternum could possibly be a faster and less painful recovery than my previous surgery. FWIW

Karen
 
There is more about immediate post-surgery in another, currently active thread by Karlaosh, "Those moments before and right after surgery" in Post Surgery.

There are a number of postings there that address some of these issues.

I also had the full cut, so I can't speak to the minimally invasive procedure.

Best wishes,
 
Hi, PJ829 - I'm from Springfield - had surgery at St. John's - where are you located?

Recovery is determined more by the heart's healing than by the incision. How quickly you recover depends a lot on how deconditioned you were prior to surgery; and how complicated the surgery was. Irrespective of the incision type, it seems that those who had 3 hour surgeries seem to get going faster than those who had 10 hour surgeries. And if the heart has become enlarged and the ejection fraction fallen prior to surgery, recovery takes a lot longer, too.

Honestly, for most of us, the healing of the incision is the least of our worries; just follow directions and DON'T lift heavy things and don't take a dog larger than a Yorkie on a leash and don't let your kids head-butt your chest, and the incision pretty much takes care of itself.
 
Hi PJ,

Welcome to this site. I had my MVR via a heartport procedure . My incision line is actually across the lower area of my right breast. The right lung has to be deflated to provide access and the ribs seperated. Part of one of my ribs was removed (or broke off?) and as a result was wired back into place. I do have some lung scarring that my cardiologist attributes to the surgery itself. I had a small pleural effusion, Atrial fib, and some CHF post-op but the worst was muscle spasms in my right chest. Initially, I was not allowed to use my right arm very much but was given permission to drive in just a couple of weeks. All in all though, I have made a good recovery. The surgery really helped.

If you go the minimally invasive route, find a surgeon who specializes in it. It is a technically difficult procedure and from what I understand there is a considerable learning curve.
 
Welcome to our forum. I'm not sure where you are (central Illinois), but I'm fairly close, over in Evansville, IN. I don't have any personal experience with the minimally invasive surgery as I had the full-blown surgery myself, but I hope you are able to have it. Sounds like the recovery is much easier. Take care and have a family member let us know how you're doing after your surgery.
 
Hi PG,

Welcome to our huge family.

I (and my surgeon) feel it is better to be on the conservative side with OHS and VR. Why not MIS? (I am not any kind of proffesional)-

- Keeping the cross clamp time below 120 min is very important for the success and recovery. MIS might prolong the procedure.
- It is important to get the valve in very preceise location and tightly sealed. This might be more difficult using MIS.
- The whole procedure is so delicate and required high level of accuracy and control, doing it through indirect tools and viewing the site through video fibers might not provide the same performance of direct sight and contact.
- the statisitcs on VR through MIS are not large enough and not convincing enough yet. There have been reports of higher frequency of post operative valve regurgitation (around the ring) using MIS.
- If the scar is your motive for MIS, a few months after surgery it becomes quite thin, not very outstanding unless someone looks for it.

SO is it realy worth the risk of a second OHS?
 
I had a bum mitral valve and got it replaced with a St. Jude's via the good old-fashioned split-em-open-like-a-chicken procedure. No regrets.
 
First, welcome to the forum.

Your story sounds like my husband. He was symptom free, and had been monitoring his MVP for many years until last year he had an episode of abnormal heart beat. Testing reveled it was time for surgery. He had minimally invasive mitral valve repair at NYU in May and he's doing well.

Minimally invasive surgery is done differently depending on institution. NYU goes through the ribs on the right side of the chest, usually below the right breast. I believe the Cleveland Clinic does minimally invasive though a mini-sternotomy (they still break the breastbone but it's a smaller incision compared to traditional). Some institutions use robotic assistance; others don't. NYU does not use robotic arm. They use longer instruments to reach the valve. So, it really depends on the hospital. Where are you having surgery?

Sincerely,
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Latest posts

Back
Top