Noufissa's surgery went very well

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Nancy

Well-known member
Joined
Jun 9, 2001
Messages
9,896
Location
upstate New York
My daughter (Suzanne Alami) just called to tell me that Noufissa's surgery went very well this morning. The surgeon was able to repair her mitral valve with a ring, the heart was very dialated and she also did the Maze procedure. Her damaged lungs came through fine.

The surgeon was Dr. Allison J. McLarty at Stony Brook University Hospital and Medical Center, in New York.

This is a BIG relief.
 
Thanks Nancy for letting us know, you really know how much it means.

I hope there is someone there to communicate with her as she come out of it. I was so frustrated trying to communicate with the tube down my throat and I didn't have a language barrier.

My very best to you and your family,

Thanks again,
Bill
 
The translation situation is a three ring circus. Noufissa speaks Moroccan which is a dialect of Arabic and a combo of all of the languages of all of the invaders to that country. Her daughter who is here with her speaks Moroccan and French, no English, then my daughter is the final translator, she speaks French and of course English. My son-in-law is the only person who can speak all three languages, plus a few more. He's there today, but he travels frequently.

So I'm sure it's been interesting for the doctors and nurses.
 
Hi Nan

So very glad to hear your daughter's mother in law did so well. I can't imagine what Suzanne has been through, especially with the language barrier.....hopefully now EVERYONE can get a well- deserved rest. Please be sure to give her our best wishes.

Evelyn
 
Congratulations, Noufissa! Glad to hear it went well; I get nervous about those with lung problems after my ordeal and Ross's.

Enjoy the big relief, Nancy, by God your family has earned it.
 
Wonderful! Please pass along a big congratulations.
What is the Maze procedure?
 
Maze Procedure

Maze Procedure

The maze procedure is done to try to get rid of arrythmias. Essentially, the heart has all kinds of electrical pathways. Sometimes these pathways end up jumping around and causing arrythimas (like atrial flutter or fibrilation). The maze procedure essentailly is the creation of scar tissue (by making small cuts) along the heart wall to create ONE path for the electric current to travel, thus creating a MAZE. This procedure is only done if another surgery is already planned, or if the arrythmias are very severe and not helped with meds.

The reason I know about this is because there had been talk of doing this for me.

Hope that helps,
 
She had the Maze procedure to correct her afib. Here's a description from the Stony Brook University Hospital and Medical Center:

Patient Care

THE MAZE PROCEDURE

Imagine a piano duet where one pianist plays a march while the other plays a lullaby. Hard as the slower pianist tries to keep the tempo, the faster pianist makes the slower one speed up too. The result is a song with no recognizable rhythm. For more than 2 million Americans, their heart rates are like the tempo of that piano duet. The upper chambers of their hearts beat faster than the lower chambers. The resulting rhythm is irregular and often fast [Mayo Clin Health Lett 1995].

Atrial fibrillation is the most common form of irregular heartbeats, known as arrhythmias. In atrial fibrillation, the tissue in the top chambers (atria) of the heart beats chaotically and ineffectively, sometimes causing the formation of blood clots that can lead to life-threatening stroke (click here for a description and illustration of the human heart).

The maze procedure is a newly developed surgical procedure for atrial fibrillation. It involves carefully placing a "maze" of incisions in the atrium to stop the electrical impulses causing the atrial fibrillation from spreading. It is generally a treatment of last resort; only after multiple medications have failed would most cardiologists consider it.

The maze procedure requires open heart surgery and it is very specialized surgery, done at only a few medical centers. Some centers are now experimenting with performing the maze procedure with catheters (not requiring open heart surgery), but at present this is highly experimental. The maze procedure performed as open heart surgery has a high success rate for sustaining normal heart rhythms, usually without the need for a pacemaker. Some patients, though, may still need to take medications after the procedure.

The most important thing for patients to do is to make sure they have exhausted all other medical and non-surgical options before having the maze procedure performed. They should definitely have an evaluation by a cardiac electrophysiologist?a cardiologist who specializes in atrial fibrillation.


[Return to Dr. McLarty/Physician Directory]
 
Thanks for the explanation of the Maze procedure. The procedures that they come up with never fails to amaze.

I am so glad Noufissa's procedure went well. She is also fortunate to have a family that cares so much and is so supportive.
Kev
 
I heard from my daughter today and they took the breathing tube out last night. She has an oxygen nasal cannula set at 1 and a half liters, so not too much oxygen. Would you believe her oxygen was at 99 and 100. The nurses were astounded and so was my daughter. So things are going well.
 
Nancy - Thanks for the good news. It's great to hear everytime one of us goes through this and the result is success. Please pass on my congrats to Suzanne who can translate it to her husband and over to Noufissa.
 
Hi Nancy

Very glad to hear things are going so well. This poor lady and your entire family has been through so much. I'm glad the news is good and she continues to make progress.

Evelyn
 
For Suzanne and Noufissa's daughter to pass on to Noufissa:

Cher Noufissa,
Vos amis américains vous souhaitent la bienvenue. Suzanne et Nancy nous ont informés de votre chirurgie sucessful. Nous sommes heureux pour vous! Obtenez bien bientôt!

Nous savons difficile votre chirurgie était. Nous avons toutes les expériences semblables eues. Nous espérons que vous êtes confortable, et nous espérons que vous pouvez dormir bien.

John Cochran
 
Hi everyone,
I finally had a chance to get on the computer! I know that my mother has been keeping you informed about the progress with my MIL's surgery. It finally was completed quite successfully and now she is down the slow road to recovery. We are hoping to bring her home on Thursday or Friday. We were lucky to have her surgery last Friday because my husband left Monday for an extended trip to Hong Kong so he was able to be with her for her surgery. She did have the Maze procedure done, as my mother explained, but Dr. McLarty did not use the old procedure of making insisions in the heart. She used a microwave probe to scar the heart and we will know in 3-6 months if it worked. Right now Noufissa is in sinus rhythm and has been since the surgery finished. Everyday we expect her to go back into afib, but so far so good.

We were very lucky to have Dr. McLarty. I guess things really do happen for a reason. Dr. Krukenkamp never mentioned the Maze to us and I understand that this is Dr. McLarty's specialty. I would highly recommend her to anyone in the area. Not only is she a good surgeon, she is a very nice person. I heard from the priest at Stony Brook that he has heard she operates with delicate hands.

As far as the lungs are concerned, they are now back to her normal. Right after the surgery she was a 99 and 100 % intake, but now that has dropped down to 93% with 3 liters of oxygen. She needs to work on her deep breathing to get up to 93 without oxygen.

Thank you for all of your messages and good wishes. I certainly will pass them on.
 
Bump in the road

Bump in the road

Last night Noufissa went into rapid afib and had some trouble breathing. It was expected, and hopefully it will be shortlived. She's on all kinds of IV things, Cardizem, Sodium chloride, Heparin and then will go on Coumadin.
 
Dangit! I'd really hoped that the Maze procedure would have been the end of the afib:mad: On the other hand, the cannula from the heart-lung machine can sometimes induce temporary afib...maybe it will clear up.

Bumps in the road are upsetting, and I hope your family is managing as best as possible.

--John
 
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