I had surgery 9/17 at Baylor Plano heart hospital in texas.My surgeon was Dr. M. Mack.My surgery was at 3:30 and had asending aorta replaced with a dacron tube.All went well and my valve was implanted in the tube. This was very good news as I was expecting a new valve.The operation was over by
6:00 and the vent tube was out and I was talking (I dont remember any of it)
then I "left the party" as the anathesiologist put it. I went into Ventricular-fib and they had to hit me with more than 10 shocks.Back into the O.R. and opened me back up and did a coranary bypass. Dr Mack and Dr. William Ryan were now both working on me.I went back into V-fib again and they called the chaplain at home to come back.It took 20 or 30 more shocks over the next hour or so to get this right.I remember wakeing up with the vent tube in and the sun shineing in my room.I knew something had gone very wrong.They finally took the vent tube out which seemed like forever.The vent was no fun.
The next morning I was up in a chair and kept getting visits from O.R personnell which I thought was odd but, finally realized how serious I had been.They all said you scared us!The lung Dr. told me my lungs were semi collapsed from so much time on the pump that I would have congestion. Was he right! I coughed for three days getting the phelm out and that really hurt.Another unexpected situation was while they were shocking me the skin on my bottom folded under and created 2 large pressure sores.Those still hurt 5 weeks after surgery.This was the worse pain overall.After 7 days I was released.My back hurt real bad all over again being told it was from all the shocks.I was home for 4 days we I went into a-fib and my home nurse call 911 and I was taken to my local hospital.While there being treated My cardo did a echo and said the valve looks good but, You have a hole in your heart that wasnt there before surgery! Needless to say thats all I needed to hear at that point.He sent the echo to the surgeon who was out of town.I had to live with this fear for 5 days untill the surgeon called me said that he had 3 other sugeons look at the echo and several had seen this before and it would probably heal itself and if not it is so small that all would be fine as is.That was the longest 5 days of my life.The hole came from one of the stitches from attaching the dacrn tube to the heart.Whew!! So now I am 5 weeks post op and went back to work end of week 4.I am feeling better ever day and am glad to be alive.Thank all of you who prayed for me - it made the difference.
6:00 and the vent tube was out and I was talking (I dont remember any of it)
then I "left the party" as the anathesiologist put it. I went into Ventricular-fib and they had to hit me with more than 10 shocks.Back into the O.R. and opened me back up and did a coranary bypass. Dr Mack and Dr. William Ryan were now both working on me.I went back into V-fib again and they called the chaplain at home to come back.It took 20 or 30 more shocks over the next hour or so to get this right.I remember wakeing up with the vent tube in and the sun shineing in my room.I knew something had gone very wrong.They finally took the vent tube out which seemed like forever.The vent was no fun.
The next morning I was up in a chair and kept getting visits from O.R personnell which I thought was odd but, finally realized how serious I had been.They all said you scared us!The lung Dr. told me my lungs were semi collapsed from so much time on the pump that I would have congestion. Was he right! I coughed for three days getting the phelm out and that really hurt.Another unexpected situation was while they were shocking me the skin on my bottom folded under and created 2 large pressure sores.Those still hurt 5 weeks after surgery.This was the worse pain overall.After 7 days I was released.My back hurt real bad all over again being told it was from all the shocks.I was home for 4 days we I went into a-fib and my home nurse call 911 and I was taken to my local hospital.While there being treated My cardo did a echo and said the valve looks good but, You have a hole in your heart that wasnt there before surgery! Needless to say thats all I needed to hear at that point.He sent the echo to the surgeon who was out of town.I had to live with this fear for 5 days untill the surgeon called me said that he had 3 other sugeons look at the echo and several had seen this before and it would probably heal itself and if not it is so small that all would be fine as is.That was the longest 5 days of my life.The hole came from one of the stitches from attaching the dacrn tube to the heart.Whew!! So now I am 5 weeks post op and went back to work end of week 4.I am feeling better ever day and am glad to be alive.Thank all of you who prayed for me - it made the difference.
at 4 weeks, after all that!
