Hey Everyone,
I am 28 years old and had my aortic valve and ascending aorta replaced just over 5 weeks ago now. I found out I had a bicuspid valve when I was 24 and my doctor had considered doing the surgery then, but ultimately decided that it could wait. A few years later, after an MRI and an echo my surgeon decided it was time to replace the valve.
The surgery went well, and I was out of the hospital in the morning of day 4 with the information that they had noticed some fluid around my heart on a post-op echo. The doctor ordered a follow up echo in a few days to see if there were any changes to the amount of fluid. Unfortunately after my echo was finished the tech brought in one of the doctors and he informed me that the fluid had increased since the previous echo. My surgeon was informed of the increase, and he decided to re-admit me to the hospital so he could do another surgery to drain out the fluid.
I was back in the hospital for 3 days, mainly because the surgery was delayed due to more urgent cases. They didn't have to open me up again, although they did increase the length of the scar from the valve replacement. Again, the surgery went well and I was told they drained 1200cc of fluid! Prior to the fluid being drained I didn't realize how poorly I felt but I definitely noticed a difference once it was gone.
Since I was discharged the second time things have been going well and I am feeling pretty good. I chose a mechanical valve, so we are working on figuring out my proper warfarin dose still. I am hoping we've got it now as I've had to get my INR checked every 3 days up to this point so my veins have been poked a lot over the last few weeks. I definitely want to start home testing at some point and have already looked into where I can buy the Coaguchek. I have an info session tomorrow for cardiac rehab which I am looking forward to as I'd love to be able to increase my exercise.
This forum has been very helpful to read pre and post surgery so I just wanted to say thank you to everyone for posting your experiences and helping out here!
Rob
I am 28 years old and had my aortic valve and ascending aorta replaced just over 5 weeks ago now. I found out I had a bicuspid valve when I was 24 and my doctor had considered doing the surgery then, but ultimately decided that it could wait. A few years later, after an MRI and an echo my surgeon decided it was time to replace the valve.
The surgery went well, and I was out of the hospital in the morning of day 4 with the information that they had noticed some fluid around my heart on a post-op echo. The doctor ordered a follow up echo in a few days to see if there were any changes to the amount of fluid. Unfortunately after my echo was finished the tech brought in one of the doctors and he informed me that the fluid had increased since the previous echo. My surgeon was informed of the increase, and he decided to re-admit me to the hospital so he could do another surgery to drain out the fluid.
I was back in the hospital for 3 days, mainly because the surgery was delayed due to more urgent cases. They didn't have to open me up again, although they did increase the length of the scar from the valve replacement. Again, the surgery went well and I was told they drained 1200cc of fluid! Prior to the fluid being drained I didn't realize how poorly I felt but I definitely noticed a difference once it was gone.
Since I was discharged the second time things have been going well and I am feeling pretty good. I chose a mechanical valve, so we are working on figuring out my proper warfarin dose still. I am hoping we've got it now as I've had to get my INR checked every 3 days up to this point so my veins have been poked a lot over the last few weeks. I definitely want to start home testing at some point and have already looked into where I can buy the Coaguchek. I have an info session tomorrow for cardiac rehab which I am looking forward to as I'd love to be able to increase my exercise.
This forum has been very helpful to read pre and post surgery so I just wanted to say thank you to everyone for posting your experiences and helping out here!
Rob