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Itasca Jim

New member
Joined
Aug 2, 2010
Messages
2
Location
Itasca County, Northern Minnesota
Hello Everyone!
What a great site. I read a ton of the articles prior to joining which helped me immensely during my recent surgery.

Today is the one week anniversary of having my aortic valve replaced (plus one bypass) at Mayo/ St. Mary's in Rochester, MN. I was admitted Thursday morning (12th) and released Monday morning (16th). I'm still a little sore in the chest but am feeling great. My cardiologist was Dr. Nishimura and the surgeon was Dr. Schaff.

I had open heart surgery in 1959 (when I was six) to correct a constricted aorta. The surgeons were Dr. Lillehei and Dr. Varco. I remember a lot about that experience even though I was was pretty young. And yes, I'm also one of those people with the scar across their back instead of chest.

My biscuspid aortic valve was in rough shape according to Dr. Nishimura. He said on a scale of one to four with four being the worst....it was a 4+. I did a stay in St. Mary's in Duluth prior to the valve replacement surgery. That was to stabilize me, open up the aortic valve with a balloon and hopefully get me to the point where I could be a surgical candidate. By all rights, I shouldn't be here.....very rough shape with that stenotic valve (heart, liver, and kidney failure with mass swelling of the extremities).

It's been a long haul...... Very, very happy to be here. As I said above, this is a great site, the stories are inspiring and they also gave me the inside straight on what to expect immediately after surgery (which really helped!).
I look forward to reading and learning more and sharing thoughts, experiences, and conversation with all of you. What a trememdous resource of information and help!

Take Care,
Itasca Jim
 
Hi Jim and welcome. I found this site 3+ years ago and it has given me a bunch of answers to questions I had....but never thought to ask a doctor about. Your story takes me back to the early '60s when I began asking docs about open heart surgery....and they were telling me that it was still too early and too experimental for me to consider in order to correct my heart "murmur". I wish you many years with your new "toy":thumbup:.
 
Jim
Welcome to the board or should I say family as we are all OHS brothers and sisters
DisneyWelcomeToOurGroup.gif
 
Welcome ItascaJim! I grew up in Itasca County! :smile2: It's a wonderful place to be from! Sounds like you have been through a lot! I hope your recovery is smooth sailing from here on out!
 
Itasca Jim said:
Hello Everyone!
What a great site. I read a ton of the articles prior to joining which helped me immensely during my recent surgery.

Today is the one week anniversary of having my aortic valve replaced (plus one bypass) at Mayo/ St. Mary's in Rochester, MN. I was admitted Thursday morning (12th) and released Monday morning (16th). I'm still a little sore in the chest but am feeling great. My cardiologist was Dr. Nishimura and the surgeon was Dr. Schaff.

I had open heart surgery in 1959 (when I was six) to correct a constricted aorta. The surgeons were Dr. Lillehei and Dr. Varco. I remember a lot about that experience even though I was was pretty young. And yes, I'm also one of those people with the scar across their back instead of chest.

My biscuspid aortic valve was in rough shape according to Dr. Nishimura. He said on a scale of one to four with four being the worst....it was a 4+. I did a stay in St. Mary's in Duluth prior to the valve replacement surgery. That was to stabilize me, open up the aortic valve with a balloon and hopefully get me to the point where I could be a surgical candidate. By all rights, I shouldn't be here.....very rough shape with that stenotic valve (heart, liver, and kidney failure with mass swelling of the extremities).

It's been a long haul...... Very, very happy to be here. As I said above, this is a great site, the stories are inspiring and they also gave me the inside straight on what to expect immediately after surgery (which really helped!).
I look forward to reading and learning more and sharing thoughts, experiences, and conversation with all of you. What a trememdous resource of information and help!

Take Care,
Itasca Jim
Click to expand...

Hi, Jim and welcome!
It sounds as though you're doing great, so just nap when you can and walk every chance you get . . . unless you're napping.:wink2:
I went to college in southern Minnesota, and we've got a summer place in west central Wisconsin, so I feel like we're practically neighbors! :smile2: I hope you'll let us know more about your experiences, and how you're feeling as the weeks go by.
Mary
 
welcome to the club! I couldnt even put a sentence together at one week.lol your doing great!
 
Hi Jim,
Even if you are from Minnesota I'll still welcome you :biggrin2:

When I was a kid we used to vacation (from Chicago area) up in your neck of the woods... Itasca, Grand Rapids and thereabouts.
 
Last edited:
Hi Jim,

Welcome to the site. I'm almost 4 weeks out from AVR and had my surgery at Mayo/St Mary's. Different docs though. I'm interested to know what valve you chose? I hope your recovery is fast and complete.

Doug
 
Thanks everyone for the nice welcome!

I've been away from the computer for the past few days getting all my"ducks in a row"....INR squared away. meds tweaked, cardiac rehab set up, and lots of company stopping by now that I'm home again. I promised my son that I would take it easy this weekend (he flew in from California to help the old man during his recovery).

Has anyone had an evening fever of short duration after their surgery? I had this two days running before I left the hospital. After a bunch of tests nothing was found. The temperature is around 101.5 and starts in the evening and is extinguished hours later. I went into the emergency room Thursday night to be checked out again. Throat culture, blood culture, check the urine, chest x-ray, check the incisions...nothing. I call it the mystery fever.

Doug, I received a Carbomedics aortic bi-leaflet valve made by Sorin Biomedica Cardio (Italy?). The surgeon picked the manufacturer, I just went by the criteria of going with a carbon fiber valve versus a tissue one. If the tissue valve was longer lasting, I would have chose that. It was four days before I heard the actual ticking. It doesn't bother me so much but it is a little weird....I'm sure I'll get used to it.

Cris....you nailed the location. A 45 minute drive north of Grand Rapids will put you in my territory. And Noami... I had a neighbor named Noami who used to ride horses with my sister.... did you go to school in northern Itasca County?

Again, thanks for the warm welcome!

Itasca Jim
 
Itasca Jim said:
I call it the mystery fever.
Click to expand...

Jim, most of what I post about my surgery is "way out of date":frown2:.....but FWIW, I did have a "low grade fever" after surgery and it caused my stay in the hopital too be extended by a couple of days. Other than the fever, I felt OK. I made such an "ass" out of myself:tongue2: that they finally let me go home with instructions to come back to the hospital if my temp went up by one degree. My temp returned to normal within a short time:thumbup:.
 
Hey Jim! Welcome to a great place. I only get in when I can, borrowing computer till I get one. You will be informed of many things. Just stay close by. These are great people. I have known a lot of them for 9 years, and there are new ones also who are pros. Take care.
 
I hope that mystery fever goes away! I am probably not the same Naomi, I never rode horses with a neighbor. Good luck on your continued recovery!
 
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