Surgery in 2 weeks

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Bean Counter

Bean Counter

VR.org Supporter
Supporting Member
Joined
Apr 28, 2010
Messages
338
Location
Chicago, IL
Hello-

I am having surgery on 6/21 to have my Aortic Valve replaced with a tissue valve at the University of Chicago. I visited 3 surgeons at 3 different hospitals that all indicated that my aorta is not quite ready for replacement (3.8..but was 4.3 when I ran more), so they are going to reinforce it with a dacron strip.

I have read lots of good information here, but there is one thing that I have not heard too much about. It is my understanding that I will be on a ventilator when I first wake up and they will take me off of it once they feel comfortable that I am breathing on my own. What was it like being on the ventilator?
 
Bean.....I have been intubated a few times, while not quite asleep, for breathing problems due to my myasthenia gravis, so I know the feeling first hand. But most people i have talked to have said they have no recollection of having the breathing tube. They say they usually remove it while you are still a little groggy. Im having surgery wednesday but am not concerned about that. Mike
 
Hi Bean Counter,

Welcome to the forum and all the best on upcoming surgery.

re: the breathing tube, i had my surgery 3 weeks ago today.

I have little recollection of the breathing tube, it was there when i first woke up 4-5 hours post surgery, cause remember that i could not talk and wife confirmed i was seriously intubbed....but i have not recollection of removal....must have been sleeping, when removed and do know that it was removed prior to being moved to step down about 20 hours post op

First 24-48 hours are uncomfortable, no doubt, but you will be only be awake for short periods....ICU staff mentioned to my wife that my BP and temperature was very high for 1st 24 hours post op, do they may have heavily medicated me....till they found out i was having some allergic reaction to morphine...from then on pain meds were Oxydone, but only for about day 2...from then on sporadic need for Tylonol.

Life gets so much better when remainder of tubes removed and you are allowed to sit up and stand...about 40 hours later, i was moved to regular room and major relief and mobility starting day 3...prepare yourself for the required coughing of phlegm from lungs and the need to re expand, the lungs (the need for a pillow to hug)...but all in all you will also likely be amazed at how quickly you will say....did i really have OHS a few days ago?

all the best

Gil
 
Bean, I'm one of the few that remember the tube vividly. I think I must wake up quicker than normal after being put under. I had the same question as you going into my surgery, in fact it was the biggest fear I had going into surgery (well, other than the small possibility of not waking up or having some kind of serious complications). The reason I was worried about it was because I'd read a book by some guy (can't remember his name now) who re-capped his operation. He described how he woke up, felt like he had to pee, and couldn't talk because of the tube in his throat. That was all freaking me out a little. And to be honest, it still was the least favorite part of the whole thing for me, but was probably worsened because I had a pretty severe phlem problem going into surgery. So when I woke up, it was a little difficult to breath (the tube is small and doesn't give a lot of room for air to get in). And the phlem was driving me nuts - couldn't cough it up cause of the tube. So it was unpleasant - and they could tell I wasn't liking it so they took it out, maybe even earlier than they normally do. To my pleasant surprise though, it didn't hurt at all coming out. In fact, it felt great once it was out - I could breath semi-normally again. Was able to rest much better after that.

Bottom line, hopefully you'll sleep right through that part of the whole experience and won't even remember it. But, if you're one of the few who are aware of it, just try to relax, it doesn't hurt or anything, just is annoying and makes it a little hard to breath as deep as you might like. Especially if you start getting anxious about it like I did. But again - it's not horrible -just annoying.
 
My first memory after surgery was 2 nurses helping me sit up in bed. He said they were going to take my breathing tube out. It was about 5 hrs after surgery. He said I am going to count to 3 and then I want you to cough. I did and they pulled the tube out and I went right back to sleep. I really have no memory of any discomfort during the procedure, so I have to say it was not an issue.....
 
Most people are off the vent when they wake up or atleast don't remember most of it. My son has had quite a few surgeries and for most of them, he woke up and was very aware of the vent for at least an hour or so. They go by bloodwork results to see when it is safe to pull it. The best thing to do, altho easier said than done, is try not to fight the vent, try to relax and breath with it , not against it. Also try not to pull the vent or any of your lines, or they might have to tie your hands down until you are more awake so you don't hurt yourself.
Since Justin usually wakes on it, one thing that was very frustrating was try to tell us he wanted something and we didn't understand. So now i always have something for him to write on, its kind of tough writing laying on your back on the vent, (and Justin has bad handwriting to start with) but he does well enough usually it is something simple like scratch his nose or chapstick, or wipe his eyes (they may have gunk on them) ect. (One time the FIRST thing he asked when he woke was if the O's won (they did lol) Another thing that works well for us, is we come up with a couple simple hand signs to ask for things he usually likes when he wakes up, like wipe his face /forehead with a damp washcloth chapstick ect. He is awake enough that he remebers what signals to use, but that might be because we practice them over and over, so he just about could do them in his sleep, literally.
It might help you relax a little if you work out a plan with whoever will probably be with you when you wake up just incase you are on the vent. At least you will know IF you wake up on i, you can communicate and it will make your lloved on feel like something is in your /their control and they will be able to understand what yo would like.
 
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BC, my memories of the ICU are sketchy but my first memory is waking with respirator in place and nurse telling me that surgery was over and all went well and to just breath normally. The respirator provides all the air you need. Even so we still have an urge to panic when we fear that our breathing is constrained. Don't worry. The ICU staff will make sure you are getting enough air and they will remove it as soon as possible. Some time later, I remember the nurse telling me he was going to remove the respirator and needed me to cough to assist him. A moment later it was out and I was breathing on my own. It wasn't a great experience but it also was not horrible. The ICU staff is going to be watching you closely. They will have done this hundreds if not thousands of times and will not allow the respirator to cause you distress. As Andy said, they may even remove it earlier than they would prefer to reduce your stress.

Larry
 
If it were not for the taste and feel of something plastic in my mouth when I woke up, I would not have known the breathing tube was there. For me it was not a big deal at all. It didn't feel uncomfortable and it didn't hurt when it was removed. Realize, too, that when you do "wake up" after surgery, you're still a bit out of it and it's not going to be your "normal" feeling of awake.
 
Best wishes fo all to go well :)

I don't want to scare you but next time I will ask for the med, Versed, so I won't remember the horrible experience after waking up on the vent, like this last time. I probably should have filed some kind of complaint against the tech; it was that awful.

The disadvantage to a med like Versed is that you may have some conversation that you won't remember.

I also woke up on the vent after my first heart surgery; but even though the experience was a surprise to me, because I hadn't been told about it, it wasn't that bad.
 
I've had 6 surgeries in my life. Not all ohs, of course. Not once did I wake up while the tube was in.

However, I always, always, always wake up shaking with chills - reaction to the drugs. They give me something for it ASAP, and it doesn't recur.
 
You'll be so foggy from the anesthesia that you'll be vaguely aware of it but by the time you fully wake up and are conscious it will likely be out and you'll forget all about it. Once I was awake, I focused more on general pain management.
 
I have vague memory of waking with vent both my OHS (but not with any of other surgeries I have had) but it wasn't anything awful. I was uneasy about it my first surgery and I hardly remembered anything about it next day. Second surgery I didn't have the same concern and was good I didn't as once again, I had no issue. Out and gone before I was fully concious.
 
I woke up the evening of the surgery and there was no tube in my throat and no discomfort other than an extremely dry mouth. Ice chips, which the nurse gave me with some relucatance (worried I might vomit), resolved that.
 
I had my aortic valve replaced 10 wks ago and remember the breathing tube being removed. I believe they need to check to see if your lung function kicks in when they start to remove the tube. Also tell your anestheologist you are apprehensive and they can keep you medicated so you won't remember. Tubes coming out in post op is a good sign.

Best of luck

Tom
 
By far it was the worst part of surgery for me also. I woke up fairly quickly after being moved to ICU and even tried pulling the tube out myself. I had so much saliva that it was making me want to choke. They couldn't suction the fluid out fast enough for me. It seemed like a very long time after waking up that they finally removed it but I'm sure that it wasn't. The second worst part for me of the surgery was having the drainage tubes taken out. Atleast when they took the breathing tube out I was still fairly groggy and on major pain meds. With the drainage tubes I was fully aware of what was going on and had to have them taken out so I could have my pacemaker implanted. it doesn't take long for either to be taken out and having all of those removed made me feel much better as I was able to move around better. Best of luck on your upcoming surgery. It will be over before you know it and you will have a new lease on life.
 
Good point, Jackie. I had read here the drain tubes could hurt (don't recall it from the first surgery); so when they came to pull them out, I asked to have something to avoid that pain and they accomodated my request.
 
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