LuckyGuy
Active member
I had my AVR and MVR surgery on 30 July 2009, as scheduled. I'm sorry it's taken me so long to write my valvereplacement.com friends, but frankly I've felt a bit unsettled and in limbo and wanted to have more closure before I wrote.
The surgery went just fine. Cleveland Clinic is amazing, and Dr. Lytle and staff were wonderful. Some of you may recall that I had the valve problems due to radiation therapy for lymphoma twenty-plus years ago. Dr. Lytle is one of the real experts on "Radiation Heart" and I would recommend him for anybody that needs surgery for this reason.
I travelled from Seattle for this surgery and feel that going to the Clinic and having Dr. Lytle was well worth the trip. Many patients at the Clinic are from out of town and they are very organized and used to packing those pre-operative tests into one long day a couple days before surgery.
BTW, despite telling me he'd be using St. Jude valves, he actually ended up using a Carbomedics Top Hat for the atrial replacement, and an On-X for the mitral valve.
After surgery, I had some problems with my heart rate dropping and thus was on a temporary pacemaker for most of my stay in the Clinic. Eventually that problem cleared up and I was discharged 6 days after surgery.
By the time I visited my Seattle cardiologist about 12 days after surgery, I was completely exhausted and really felt I was moving backwards instead of improving. I had a horrible, racking cough and shortness of breath whatever I did. Turned out I was in A-Fib. My cardiologist prescribed the "dreaded" Amiodorone, which despite its reputation I have not experienced any adverse side-effects from the drug. The Amiodorone eventually did the job and I've been in sinus rhythm for about two weeks, which has helped me feel better.
Nobody had any good ideas about the cough; my cardiologist suggested it was just fluid in the lungs but I felt it was more than that, despite my blood tests showing no infection. Anyways, it's taken four weeks, but the cough/respitory infection is finally starting to clear up and now I feel I can concentrate more on conditioning and recovery. I've been doing a fair amount of walking but still feel tired most of the time. I still take a nap every day, which I've actually come to enjoy
On the positive side, I had very little pain in my chest or sternum. I ditched the chest pillow after a day. I've had no problem sleeping, even on my side. I was off pain medications before I left the hospital (I did take the Oxycodone they gave me a few times at home, not for pain per se but to help me fall asleep when the coughing was intolerable).
Also, everybody (both medical professionals and family/friends) remarks at how neat and unobtrusive my incision is. It's very thin and tight (they call that "approximate" in the business, apparently) and has already started to fade in color. When my chest hair fully grows back it should be practically undetectable.
I'm hoping that I get cleared for Cardiac Rehab when I next see my cardiologist, that will be the right way to get back in shape and build up my strength and endurance.
It's also been interesting getting used to the valves, which are pretty loud and disconcertingly variable (they'll "pop" and "snap" for a few minutes and then they'll be quieter for a while and then who knows). I can also feel them in my chest, and that too varies quite a bit. I especially feel and hear them (in a somewhat unpleasant sensation) when I first lie down, or when I change position while lying down.
It's been a busy four weeks, with 2x/week trips to the INR, a whole medicine cabinet worth of new drugs, dealing with afib, etc. There are times when I feel I'm really "behind schedule" in my recovery, especially when I read the stories about people doing 5k races three weeks after surgery. I hate those people
On the other hand, I appreciate (at least intellectually, if not emotionally) how lucky I am that everything went well, how moderate and temporary my post-surgery problems have been, and that it really hasn't been that long at all. I take comfort in reading the stories here and seeing that the minor issues I've faced are common.
Despite my poor posting record, I've been reading valvereplacement.com, especially when I had a question or new drug. It's been absolutely invaluable and I want to thank you all for the time you've spent posting and helping others.
The surgery went just fine. Cleveland Clinic is amazing, and Dr. Lytle and staff were wonderful. Some of you may recall that I had the valve problems due to radiation therapy for lymphoma twenty-plus years ago. Dr. Lytle is one of the real experts on "Radiation Heart" and I would recommend him for anybody that needs surgery for this reason.
I travelled from Seattle for this surgery and feel that going to the Clinic and having Dr. Lytle was well worth the trip. Many patients at the Clinic are from out of town and they are very organized and used to packing those pre-operative tests into one long day a couple days before surgery.
BTW, despite telling me he'd be using St. Jude valves, he actually ended up using a Carbomedics Top Hat for the atrial replacement, and an On-X for the mitral valve.
After surgery, I had some problems with my heart rate dropping and thus was on a temporary pacemaker for most of my stay in the Clinic. Eventually that problem cleared up and I was discharged 6 days after surgery.
By the time I visited my Seattle cardiologist about 12 days after surgery, I was completely exhausted and really felt I was moving backwards instead of improving. I had a horrible, racking cough and shortness of breath whatever I did. Turned out I was in A-Fib. My cardiologist prescribed the "dreaded" Amiodorone, which despite its reputation I have not experienced any adverse side-effects from the drug. The Amiodorone eventually did the job and I've been in sinus rhythm for about two weeks, which has helped me feel better.
Nobody had any good ideas about the cough; my cardiologist suggested it was just fluid in the lungs but I felt it was more than that, despite my blood tests showing no infection. Anyways, it's taken four weeks, but the cough/respitory infection is finally starting to clear up and now I feel I can concentrate more on conditioning and recovery. I've been doing a fair amount of walking but still feel tired most of the time. I still take a nap every day, which I've actually come to enjoy
On the positive side, I had very little pain in my chest or sternum. I ditched the chest pillow after a day. I've had no problem sleeping, even on my side. I was off pain medications before I left the hospital (I did take the Oxycodone they gave me a few times at home, not for pain per se but to help me fall asleep when the coughing was intolerable).
Also, everybody (both medical professionals and family/friends) remarks at how neat and unobtrusive my incision is. It's very thin and tight (they call that "approximate" in the business, apparently) and has already started to fade in color. When my chest hair fully grows back it should be practically undetectable.
I'm hoping that I get cleared for Cardiac Rehab when I next see my cardiologist, that will be the right way to get back in shape and build up my strength and endurance.
It's also been interesting getting used to the valves, which are pretty loud and disconcertingly variable (they'll "pop" and "snap" for a few minutes and then they'll be quieter for a while and then who knows). I can also feel them in my chest, and that too varies quite a bit. I especially feel and hear them (in a somewhat unpleasant sensation) when I first lie down, or when I change position while lying down.
It's been a busy four weeks, with 2x/week trips to the INR, a whole medicine cabinet worth of new drugs, dealing with afib, etc. There are times when I feel I'm really "behind schedule" in my recovery, especially when I read the stories about people doing 5k races three weeks after surgery. I hate those people
On the other hand, I appreciate (at least intellectually, if not emotionally) how lucky I am that everything went well, how moderate and temporary my post-surgery problems have been, and that it really hasn't been that long at all. I take comfort in reading the stories here and seeing that the minor issues I've faced are common.
Despite my poor posting record, I've been reading valvereplacement.com, especially when I had a question or new drug. It's been absolutely invaluable and I want to thank you all for the time you've spent posting and helping others.
