Joe's Surgery

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Nancy

Well-known member
Joined
Jun 9, 2001
Messages
9,896
Location
upstate New York
Hi everyone

Joe's surgery is complete and he is in Intensive Care. He went in at 9:00 and was done at 3:00. Much shorter than we had anticipated. They did Port Access or minimally invasive surgery through the right rib because it made easy access to his mitral and tricuspid valves and also because he had two surgeries through the sternum. The into and outof of this type of surgery is a little time consuming, but the procedure itself took less than an hour. It turned out to be a hole in the mitral valve and they were able to stitch it up instead of replacing the valve. The tricuspid has a minimal leak but that was left alone. Most valves leak a little anyway.

Why the leak? My own suspicion is that after his last valve replacement, Joe had 3 faints in which he dropped like a stone. Any of those could have torn something loose. Only a guess, but if I were a betting person, that would be my bet. Immediately after surgery he had been feeling pretty well. The fainting episodes were caused by afib which has been corrected a while back by a combo. of pacemaker and Tiazac.

They never had to use any of the units of blood during surgery.

I'm so relieved. I hope this is the end of this ordeal and we can focus on some fun things, instead of living in a MASH unit.
 
Last edited:
Nancy

Nancy

Delighted to hear Joe's surgery went so well ...hope this good news continues ..you both need to rest up and take things easy ..thinking of you both here ...keep in touch
Scottie
 
What a relief for you both.
Going in between the ribs is a nice bonus. I'm sure Joe will recover far more quickly than with his previous 'sternum' operations.

Thanks for posting Joe's status so quickly.

I'm glad everything went well.
Take good care and I hope you both take some rest over the next little while. You could probably use some sleep too, Nancy.

Best to you both.
Kev
 
Whew! What a relief it must be that its over. Wishing you many less worrying times ahead. Best wishes to you both.
 
Dear nancy and joe, so good to hear that all went well. Now all you need to do is consintrate on your recovery. Looking forward to hearing more as you feel better and able. martha
 
Great news, Nancy! I'm so glad it went well for you guys. You've been through a lot already, it was time for some relief. Due to the miinimally invasive approach, the recovery should go well and quick. Take care.
 
Good news!

Good news!

Nancy and Joe,

That's great news about the surgery! Hopefully, the recovery will be a breeze compared to the previous surgeries.

Godspeed,

Kristy W
 
Great News

Great News

This is great news Nancy. I am so glad to hear that everything went so well. Really suprised at how at how short the surgery was. Keep us informed and try to relax.
 
Great news Nancy! Give Joe our best.

Wonderful about the minimally invasive procedure.

I was told that once you have open chest surgery there is no turing back, ie you will have subsequent surgery in the same fashion. Obviously this is not the case.

Anyone care to add to that? I also see you are in NY. Did he have his surgery at NYCU? Would like to tuck his surgeons name away for futre reference. He did a great job!

We are so thrilled that's he's on his way!

Keep us posted
 
I'd be happy to recommend the surgeon

I'd be happy to recommend the surgeon

Joe's surgery was done by Dr. Harry J. DePan, Chief of Cardio-Thoracic surgery at Ellis Hospital in Schenectady, New York. Ellis hospital has recently been honored as one of the top 100 cardiac hospitals in the US.

Dr. DePan has personally done 3 surgeries on Joe, two heart surgeries and one lung surgery.

He is a very careful, meticulous surgeon and very highly regarded in his field.

I just came back from the hospital and I'm amazed at how wonderful Joe looks now. His color is the best I've seen in many months, his ascites, neck distension and breathing problems are gone. Even though he had a double intubation, now extubated, his voice is stronger and more normal than I've heard in a long time. I was really prepared for the worst. This has taken me quite by surprise. He says he isn't even sore and forgot to push his pain button. He'll be in a regular room tomorrow. I'm anxious to see how he does when they get him walking.

Barring anything unforeseen, recovery is remarkable.
 
Nancy, I am so happy for you both that the surgery is now behind you and you begin to move forward. I know all these months have not been easy for either of you but you have my sincere prayers that your future will be bright and always happy. God bless.
 
Wow Nancy.. So glad that Joe once again is on the other side, and that everything went so well for him. It must be such a relief for you!
Please keep us posted with his recovery and we hope for more good news in the coming weeks.
Best wishes coming your way!

Christina.
 
Nancy and Joe

That's great news! And how nice that they were able to do a minimally invasive surgery.

All the best wishes for a speedy recovery. It sounds like Joe has a good start on it already.

Dianne
 
Hi Nancy and Joe

Hi Nancy and Joe

Hi Nancy and Joe!

God does answer prayers. We join you in celebration of the surgery being completed. We talked about your experience while we were in the RV. Wondered how you were both doing. Second surgery is NOT fun. Neither is the first surgery.

Hope that our trails cross sometime in the future.

Keep us informed.
 
Good Morning Nancy and Joe -

I was very excited to hear all went well with the surgery. Good for Joe. Take Care and try to get some rest. Yeah Right. LOL

Can they do the Non-invasive surgery for AVR? I need to check on that for future reference. Someone else I know had it for a Mitral repair and it was smooth sailing.

Take Care.
Tammy
 
Hi Tammy

Hi Tammy

I'm not sure about AVR and Port Access/Minimally Invasive surgery. I do know that the mitral is in an ideal location for it. The surgeon said he could see it exceptionally well.

Maybe do a search on the Cleveland Clinic forums for AVR info.
 

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