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Fabulous! Hoping you have a smooth journey...every time I see some one on the other side of the mountain come back strong it makes me happy for them and sends my confidence a few notches higher. I'll be watching for your "post" post.
 
Dave. Best of luck. Thinking & sending good thoughts to u. Mine is 2-9. So right behind u. Keep us posted. Be well

Nancy Jane
 
Dave,
The cardiologist and surgeon already knew I had a very very stenotic bi-cuspid valve before they started the christimas goose carving job (hehe). They got a really good picture during the TEE which was done in January prior to my surgery. I'm sure others will chime in with their own experiences. Still sending you some positive vibes for your surgery day.
 
Here's a general question to everyone. Did the surgeon tell you about the valve they replaced? Bicuspid, damage, etc? Just curious.

usually they say how bad things were etc, if they dont bring it up you can always ask..or tell the person who will be with you to ask when they get the final update since they wont be groggy :)
 
Here's a general question to everyone. Did the surgeon tell you about the valve they replaced? Bicuspid, damage, etc? Just curious.

I had a repair instead of a replacement. But one morning, when he came by on his rounds, I mentioned to him that I was amazed that the congestion in my lungs was gone when I came to in the ICU, and he said that wasn't surprising with how badly my valve was leaking. But I didn't think to go beyond that with questions.
 
My surgeon popped in to see me the day after surgery and told me all had gone well, that my old valve had been in very bad shape and that he had installed a "whopping" (big) new one. That was about all he said at the time, I think (I was a bit groggy still). But I don't need to know much more than that, really. Nearly 8 months on and it's working a treat! ;)
 
For Skyler, they wheeled him away at about 7:40am, and at 2:30 his surgeon came out and told us that he could have repaired his aortic valve, but that it would likely only hold for 1-10 years. Considering he had just replaced his mechanical mitral valve with a larger one (and therefore Skyler would be on warfarin anyway), he opted to give him a mechanical aortic valve as well and prevent any further surgeries. Also, he told us about the surprise of the aortic aneurism at that time, and how he replaced it with a graft. Let’s hope that your surgery is a lot more smooth, and much shorter than Skyler’s (8 hours).

As for re-scheduling surgery dates, that stinks and should never be allowed…. However, Skyler’s was postponed about 8 times in all, enough that we hardly believed it until AFTER he was under the anaesthetic. You see, he was all prepped and everything on a different day and they postponed it while he was already getting his first IVs to reduce his INR levels… I don’t think that they put enough consideration in how much emotional energy and preparation it takes for the patient for such an important and invasive surgery.

Did they at least give you a good reason for the delay?
 
Good luck, DCC! You will be home recovering before you know it! My AVR kick off is a day before yours - 9am

RealtorRick, hope day 2 post-op is treating you well!

Blessings,

SB42
 
For Skyler, they wheeled him away at about 7:40am, and at 2:30 his surgeon came out and told us that he could have repaired his aortic valve, but that it would likely only hold for 1-10 years. Considering he had just replaced his mechanical mitral valve with a larger one (and therefore Skyler would be on warfarin anyway), he opted to give him a mechanical aortic valve as well and prevent any further surgeries. Also, he told us about the surprise of the aortic aneurism at that time, and how he replaced it with a graft. Let’s hope that your surgery is a lot more smooth, and much shorter than Skyler’s (8 hours).

As for re-scheduling surgery dates, that stinks and should never be allowed…. However, Skyler’s was postponed about 8 times in all, enough that we hardly believed it until AFTER he was under the anaesthetic. You see, he was all prepped and everything on a different day and they postponed it while he was already getting his first IVs to reduce his INR levels… I don’t think that they put enough consideration in how much emotional energy and preparation it takes for the patient for such an important and invasive surgery.

Did they at least give you a good reason for the delay?



Re-scheduling surgeries is definitely very difficult on the patient and their family but it is also necessary sometimes.

I was the emergency who needed immediate surgery and I was told I bumped someone who had been scheduled with my surgeon as they didn't want me waiting. I had been in CICU for days until I was well enough to survive the surgery. I was so ill but I still remember feeling awful about the person who had been cancelled.

My second surgery, I was on the other side of that fence and worried I'd be bumped but, thankfully, that didn't happen.

dcc: I am VERY sorry you have been rescheduled. It is very hard emotionally and when everyone is geared toward a certain date, no one wants to be postponed. All you can do is think that everything happens for a reason. It just wasn't meant to be you would have your surgery on the original date.

ALL BEST Wishes.
 
Sending good vibes... lots of them...

Hope things clear up soon so you don't have to be postponned...

Jkm7 - I agree that being postponned is tough on everyone. When the reason they give (several times) is simply that they don't have enough nurses on staff currently (but there are plenty of PICU beds), it makes you wonder whether the people scheduling surgery talk to those scheduling nursing staff. It certainly helped us when we found out the reason for being postponned the last time - there had been carbon monoxide poisoning in a church and about 40 people and many kids were admitted. Those are easy to take. For Skyler it wasn't an emergency. Urgent, yes, but emergency, no. He would last another month without surgery!
 
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