My upcoming surgery--words of wisdom?

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mecretired

mecretired

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Supporting Member
Joined
Apr 28, 2010
Messages
313
Location
Southeast Missouri, USA
I will be having surgery on Monday May 3. I have an ascending aortic aneurysm that will be replaced with a Dacron graft. I also have a very leaky aortic valve that will be replaced with a titanium valve. This all came up suddenly and is all very new to me. Can any of you give me any words of advise, wisdom, etc? Can you tell me what to expect pre-surgery, post-surgery, recovery, etc? Anything will be appreciated.
 
Welcome to the forum.
This is a common topic and has many threads regarding your questions. Someone should be around to help you out and post the threads.
Do you live alone? you may need some help for the first week or 2. Cut your toe nails before surgery. It may be a while before you can reach that far down. Opening the fridge door might be uncomfortable - remember during surgery all those little or big chest mussels and tendons will be disturbed and need to heal again. Put items on the cupboard were it's easy to get at - reaching above your shoulders may also be painful.

The only requirement you have for the first two weeks of recovery is: eat, sleep, breath and walk......then repeat over and over again.
 
Welcome to our World!

You can find MANY threads dealing with your questions in the Pre-Surgery and Post-Surgery Forums.

You comment about a Titanium Valve caught my attention. Mechanical Valves have leaflets made of Pyrolytic Carbon, NOT metal. There is a ring around the valve that is metalic.

I'm curious as to which Surgeon and Hospital you intend to use.
Dr. Nicholas Kouchoukas in Springfield, MO. is one of the Top Rated Aorta Surgeons in the country.

'AL Capshaw'
 
mecretired said:
Dr. Mellitt with the Missouri Heart Center in Columbia, MO will be doing the surgery. He actually showed me the Dacron graft with the titanium valve as part of it.
Click to expand...
Welcome to the site.

You asked for words of advice, wisdom? Personally, I found open heart surgery to painful and challenging. Also, it seems that some post-op complications are not unusual. If your surgeon gives you a plastic instrument called a spirometer, and instructs you to do breathing exercises with it, do not neglect them because it can make a big difference in a smoother recovery.

But by about five weeks post-op, I felt much better than I had in many, many years. I hadn't realized how slowly my body had declined because of my valve closing up. Hopefully you will feel so well also!

Furthermore, before my first heart surgery, as a teenager living in Missouri at the time, I saw Dr. Lababidi at the University Hospital there in Columbia. What an excellent doctor we found him to be! So, your mention of Columbia brought back memories of that. Best wishes to you :)
 
Welcome! I am assuming from your screen name that you are retired or semi-retired. Your situation sounds similar to mine back in '05. I had an aneurysm, ascending aortic, that was measured at 5.5, and a valve that was leaking "catastrophically" as my surgeon put it in his surgery report. I chose the stentless, porcine Medtronics Freestyle, combined root/valve replacement, which is a relatively new replacement device but seems to have a promising track record so far. Sounds like you have made your valve choice, and there are many good ones, so I am not trying to influence you in that decision.

Glad to have you here with us. As others have suggested, you could do some searches on here and find a lot of discussions of preparation for and recovery from this type of surgery, Direct answers are good, too, so ask away if you have specific questions and a bunch of folks will offer their slants. I found it very helpful to have my family involved in looking after me for several weeks. They really spoiled me and I appreciated it. I found a recliner very helpful b/c I had trouble sleeping in a bed for some time. Just napped in the recliner. Good idea to have a pill organizer -- my daughter helped me with that. Some DVDs on hand of movies you've always wanted to see. Pitcher of fresh water within reach. Of course the spirometer will be your constant friend -- a useful device for gaining full lung function.

You should do fine. We will be here for you.
 
Walk as much as possible but rest when your body dictates it. I was not allowed to drive before 6 weeks post op. Bob's mention of the pill organizer brings back memories, I had more or less the same pills as before the operation but was so confused the first week or two (pumphead??) that my daughter took over and fed me my pills on the scheduled times. Get a small pillow or teddy bear to hug when coughing or sneezing. Try by all means to avoid the latter by pinching your nose!! Get slip on shoes and loose fitting clothes. I could not get my arms into jacket and shirt sleeves for about 3 weeks, someone had to help me..

Good wishes and prayers for a smooth and event free operation.
 
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When I hit some tough times post surgery I just told myself I am getting better and tried to relaxe as best I could.Remember you are doing this to
get better and you will.You probably wont be thinking clearly on some subjects for a few weeks.Dont sweat it , its the cocktail of drugs they had you on.
It will come and go.Pill box is a great invention-I struggled with my pills at home for a few days untill my Father gave me one and it helped alot!
You will probably find your shoulders hurt the most (except when sneezing).Thats normal and it will go away.Remember more than 1000 people a day
all over the world are having ohs and living better lives because of it.You will too!
 
My words of wisdom are - be kind to yourself. It's not an easy surgery/recovery by any means but you'll get through it. As Freddie said, your main job for a while will be to eat, breathe, sleep, & walk. In the 'being kind to yourself' category I also mean you should never be afraid to call your doctor if you're concerned about something. Most of us experience some sort of bump along the road to recovery... some are quite minor, others may require medical intervention. When in doubt... check it out.

AND, don't be shy about asking questions here. The only dumb question is the one not asked.

Peace.
 
The biggest thing to realize is that this is an amazing process. To have someone rooting around in us like this surgery requires and then have us wake up a few hours later is just a wonderful thing. Recovery, at first, will seem to take forever but I am 4 months out and I am walking the hills in San Fran and working the fields at home.

Stay in touch with this group and that will help.
 
Everyone has given you good advice. Here's mine. I had the ascending aortic aneurysm repair and BAVR. Remember that stairs are not your friends. You may wake with a tube down your throat. You will be very tired. You will have a foley catheter. You will have IVs. You will have O2. Home in 5 days if no complications, could be sooner. Take your pain meds regularly for the first few days then see how you feel. You will be walking post op day or at the very least, the next day. Once home, no lifting 12wks. No driving 4 wks. If you can have someone come stay with you, do it for a week or 2. You will have lots of scripts. Most will only be for 30 days. Follow up regularly with your cardio. You will probably only see your surgeon 1 or 2 more times. Grocery shop ahead of time. Get everything out of the way ahead of time that you can.
Good news? I think my hernia surgery hurt worse than my OHS's. Come back and post. Best of wishes to you for your surgery.
 
If you have a pet, be well-stocked with food. Don't plan on lifting heavy bags of dry food or cat litter.

I've heard some people say that waking up and still having the breathing tube is painful. It didn't bother me. I expected it and when I tasted the plastic it didn't seem like a big deal. You will have a chest tube for drainage. Some people said having the chest tube removed is painful. I had no pain. The nurse said, take a breath, and pulled it out and it didn't really feel like anything. I never thought I'd like having a Foley catheter (for urine) but actually found it nice that I could drink as much water as I liked and not have to worry about getting up at night to go to the bathroom. If you get a UTI, or two, don't be too surprised or concerned as it's common with a Foley from what I've heard.

The nurses in ICU will do just about everything but chew your food for you; they're very kind and helpful. The day after being transferred out of ICU, I ended up going back because of an arrhythmia; my heart had been racing for hours and I was sweaty and felt so yucky. First thing the ICU nurse did was wipe me down, clean me up and put me in a new gown. That probably made me feel better than any medication. She even offered to wash my hair. I declined, but the next time a nurse offered, I agreed. They had like this plastic shower cap thingy that goes on your head; it's warm and it soaps up with no need to rinse. It didn't quite give me a good-hair day, but sure helped to feel human.

They also have the best wet-wipes ever at the hospital. The first time you poop, you'll really appreciate having a wet-wipe almost as big as a baby blanket and that it was microwaved. I had no idea such a thing even existed.
 
mecretired said:
Dr. Mellitt with the Missouri Heart Center in Columbia, MO will be doing the surgery. He actually showed me the Dacron graft with the titanium valve as part of it.
Click to expand...

Did he say which company made that valve?
I've NEVER heard of a valve with Titanium Leaflets in the several years I've been reading these forums.
I suppose the RING Around the Valve 'could' be made of titanium.
It would be interesting to know exactly what parts are made of titanium.
The Ring around MY St. Jude Mechanical Valve shows up in chest X-Rays but NOT the Pyrolytic Carbon Leaflets.

'AL Capshaw'
 
mecretired said:
Al: I will find out about what parts are titanium and let you know. 3 days until surgery!
Click to expand...

This might help http://my.clevelandclinic.org/heart/disorders/valve/valvetreatment.aspx
CarboMedics manufactures a variety of bileaflet mechanical heart valves. The Top Hat Supra-Annular valve is used for aortic valve replacement and the standard valve in the mitral position. A third valve, the Reduce R Aortic Valve may also be used for aortic valve replacement.

The valve housing and leaflets are made of Pyrolite carbon, a unique form of carbon which Carbomedics engineers discovered in the sixties. Attached to the carbon housing is a reinforcing band of titanium and attached to the titanium band is a suture ring of PET fabric. A metallic nitinol wire holds the titanium ring to the housing with an interference groove system. Pyrolite is biocompatible.


Good luck with your surgery, You got some very good advice so far. I hope you check the stickies at the top of the preop and post op forums they have alot of good info
 
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HI Mecretired, I see your big day is coming up really soon. I will be thinking very good thoughts for you that day. I am so glad you started this thread. My 24 year old son, with Marfan Syndrome, will be having surgery this summer and it is helping me know what to expect. Now, if only he would look at the posts too. I think he is happy to be an ostrich with his head in the sand and let his mom worry about the details. I sincerely hope all goes wonderfully on Monday. Barb
 
Pre surgery ..... Go to the dentist ! Get any dodgy teeth fixed or yanked out and be done with it because it's a not so easy after your operation.... Also if you've always wanted a giant Rainbow trout or something Tattooed across your back then do it now because the ink can run when you're on Warfarin (or so they say, the "they" that are normally wrong!) so best get it done now ? Or sky diving if it's something you've always wanted to do ... Although some have done it on Warfarin, it's not advised... Good luck...
 
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