Pericardial effusion

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shirleyj62

Member
Joined
Mar 19, 2012
Messages
8
Location
Aurora, IL
I posted a bit ago about my hubby, David, that had a valve replacement. I mentioned that he was having difficulty with walking and being out of breath.

Today we went in for a routine check. They did an echocardiogram. David has pericardial effusion, which is fluid, blood, in his pericardial sac around the heart. They think he may be bleeding from the coumidin so they have stopped that. They want a recheck of the echo on Friday. If the situation still exists, it means going back and getting an incision to allow for drainage. The doctor thought that just pulling the fluid out will only be a temporary measure and does not want to do that. We also have an appointment with the surgeon with copies of the echos.

Has anyone else run into this after the surgery?

Thanks,

Shirley
 
Yes, I had it, and it's not uncommon. If it's a small effusion, as mine was, it should resolve on its own. It did give me quite a bit of SOB.
 
It is common and from what I have read is usually a result from the bodys reaction to the surgery. Small amounts of fluid can build up and in most cases can be taken care of with anti-inflamatory like tylenol. In very extreme cases surgery may be necessary, which In my case I ended up doing. Was no big deal. 15 minute procedure. They put me on steriods for a few days after surgery and told me it would be very rare for it to reappear.

I am not saying this to get you worried, but watch his finger nails. In my case just before surgery, I noticed my finger nails were blue due to low oxygen.

I hope this helps and stay after your doctor if you have any concerns.
 
Shirley,
I am glad that a reason for your husband's SOB and feeling lousy was found. I hope that the fluid resolves (disappears) on its own. In any case, sending the most positive vibes I can find in your direction. Please keep us updated.:)
 
Yes, that explains a lot of what you mentioned in previous threads about him being incapacitated. When it resolves or is drained, he should improve noticeably. Good luck!
 
Thanks for the encouragement.

We just got a phone call from the surgeon. The surgeon has arranged for David to have a CT of his heart tomorrow morning at 7:30 am. He is concerned that David may have a "pseudoaneurysm" as the result of the valve surgery not holding. After the CT we are suppose to take a copy of the scan to his office, and then he will decide what mode of action should be followed to resolve this. His office is adjacent to the hospital and his office will be pulling him out of an all-day surgery to review our CT scan. So, now we are getting more concerned.

I guess we get to "sleep" on it tonight. :frown2::frown2::frown2:

shirley
 
That's rough, but at least your surgeon is being thorough/on the ball/aggressive at determining what is causing the issue! Remember, the surgeon is making sure the worst-case scenario is not what is going on, and if it is, then he's going to FIX it!!
 
An update:
The surgeon reviewed the CT scan. He doesn't believe the amount of fluid around the heart is abnormal considering the surgery and will eventually be absorbed by the body. However, the CT scan showed about a liter of fluid in the lung and he is concerned about that. He wants to aspirate that. David is reluctant right now and promised to make a concerted effort with his breathing exercises. The surgeon is willing to wait until Monday and they will run x-rays to see if the breathing exercises are reducing the level of fluids. If not, then aspiration it is.

But right now David is very optimistic that all will go well. He feels good, although short of breath. Why he doesn't want to have the lung aspirated now is beyond me, other than his huge fear of needles. Oh well, go figure.

shirley
 
shirleyj62 said:
An update:
The surgeon reviewed the CT scan. He doesn't believe the amount of fluid around the heart is abnormal considering the surgery and will eventually be absorbed by the body. However, the CT scan showed about a liter of fluid in the lung and he is concerned about that. He wants to aspirate that. David is reluctant right now and promised to make a concerted effort with his breathing exercises. The surgeon is willing to wait until Monday and they will run x-rays to see if the breathing exercises are reducing the level of fluids. If not, then aspiration it is.

But right now David is very optimistic that all will go well. He feels good, although short of breath. Why he doesn't want to have the lung aspirated now is beyond me, other than his huge fear of needles. Oh well, go figure.

shirley
Click to expand...

Well I'm glad to hear it isnt a large pericardial effusion needing surgery. I can't imagine how harder it must be to breath with that much fluid in the lungs, is it in thelungs or outside the lungs inside the plueral sac? hopefully with doing his spirometer and walking he cand get rid of it altho like you I'd probably lean toward having it drained if possible.. Ill say some prayers.
 
Well Shirley, I am rooting for your husband. Hopefully, the breathing exercises will clear out the fluid. Give him an encouraging hug. I likely would have stalled at the word aspiration also. I too have a thing about needles. Good Luck
 
I had over a liter of fliud drained from my pericardium about 2 weeks after AVR. I had mistaken my Coumadin dose. Dumb mistake. I was given 3 bags of plasma to counteract the overdose. But a few days later I developed SOB. After a few days more, the SOB was so bad that I could hardly walk across a room. Scary stuff. After a quick echocardiogram in the ER I was wisked to the cath lab for the drainage. I was awake the whole time and the relief was instantaneous. I went shopping with my wife on the way home. Sorry I can't help with the fluid in the lungs. Best wishes for a positive outcome.
 
4/11 - update:
David went to the cardiologist on Monday and they re-ran the echo. The level of fluid around the heart appears to be the same so it doesn't seem to be increasing. The cardiologist wants to watch it based on what the surgeon had said.
David say the surgeon on Tuesday. The right lung still sounds "dead" and they still suspect fluid. He went and had an x-ray following the surgeon's appoint. The surgeon called this morning with the results of the x-ray. David's right lung is really bad (with fluid). His left lung also has fluid but not as much as the right lung. The surgeon wants to drain both lungs, although not at the same time. So right now David is scheduled for the right lung on Friday morning.

Please wish him luck on Friday.

Thank you,
Shirley
 
Wishing him well. Will be thinking of him on Friday.

Hey, at least he is well enough to wait until Friday! Hope clearing one lung helps everything else heal. Sometimes our body just has to get over that "hump" to be able to start healing itself.
 
A final update on this:
David got his procedure to drain the fluid Thursday afternoon. They drained about 1-1/2 liters of fluid from the right lung. He is feeling so much better and can actually walk now (plus walk and talk at the same time).
The doctor thinks the fluid is the result of the surgery and that it shouldn't come back.

So, hopefully, this crisis is over.

Shirley
 
Gd to hear he feels so much better. Thats alot of fluid so i can only imagine the difference it must make being able to breath with out it. Hopefully the other lung will clear up soon.
 
Hello Shirley,

I had a case of plueral effusion myself and it really hurts. I had less than 200cc if I recall and was just put on tapered doses of a steroid for a week. It does go away although I didn't believe it at the time. The total episode was about a month. I recall my surgeon telling me before hand that this can happen. My brother in law had this after some kind of hernia surgery, and I'm told it's not limited to heart surgery only. Glad he feels better.
 
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