Surgical report

[67walkon]

I got my surgical report in the mail this week. There were things I didn't know!

Surgery was July 6, this year.

They cooled me down to 20 degrees centigrade for part of the procedure; that is 68 degrees F. Pretty cold. Then they "warmed" me up to 32 degrees C, which is still only 89 degrees F. Is that typical?

They report total circulatory arrest time was 14 minutes; I presume that was when I was 20 degrees C. Also, they noted a flatline EEG at that temp. I guess that was for the graft.

The report says they replaced the entire ascending aorta to the innominate, which sounds ominous. They stapled off the left atrial appendage, completed the maze, replaced the valve, but spared the root.

I was on bypass 202 minutes. Total crossclamp time was 137 minutes. Total circulatory arrest time was 14 minutes.

What does all that mean? I know generally, but some of the terms I can't find.

Sounds much more impressive than it did at the time!

My recovery is going great and I'm pretty much doing whatever I want to do.

John

 

[Adrienne]

I was only cooled to 32 degrees C, but I didn't have the same operation. They must have cooled you to 20 degrees so that they could actually totally stop circulation, i.e. not only circulation from the heart pumping, but circulation from the heart bypass machine. It sounds like you literally had no blood pumping in your body for 14 minutes!!

It's incredible how the body can survive when cooled down like that!!

 

[Jkm7]

....And we wonder why some of us suffer 'pumphead'!

No circulation for 14 minutes. Amazing what we can survive. Very happy to hear you are doing well.