Surgery date set!!!

I will be having surgery in exactly one week on Monday the 14th.

The doctor came into the room and very quickly said he would fix the aortic aneurysm along with the aortic valve. Knowing his qualifications this was pretty much enough for me to decide to go with this doctor over the other one. I just felt like the other doctor didn't have my best interests at heart since he was basically dooming me to a second surgery some-odd years down the road. We talked for a few minutes and when I told him I had dropped off the CT video, he left to go view it while I got an EKG and talked to the doctor's PA for a bit.

When Dr. Reardon came back from viewing my CT he told me I definitely had a bicuspid valve. He said it was a Siever's Zero bicuspid valve. So while the radiologist couldn't say for sure this doctor is so experienced with what he does he could definitely tell from the imaging. His office usually uses the St. Jude's valve, but he said I could choose the On-X if I wanted. He also said that theoretically you could use a lower dosage of Warfarin with the St. Jude's also, but that it hadn't been tested specifically for that purpose, whereas the On-X had. He said it was tested that way because the valve makers needed a reason to differentiate themselves in the valve market. So now I don't know which valve to choose. LOL He also said he would be installing an atrial clip preventatively. I found this study on prophylactic use of the clip https://www.ahajournals.org/doi/10....4296?doi=10.1161/CIRCINTERVENTIONS.124.014296 that says it significantly reduces risk of stroke, but the difference seems to only be 3.6%? 86% vs 89.6%. Has anyone else had this done even though the don't have atrial fibrillation yet?

They drew my pre-surgery labs, and set up an appointment for tomorrow for a Carotid echo and another chest Xray. They gave me the special soap to use the night before and morning of surgery and this is actually happening!

SatoriFround said:

I will be having surgery in exactly one week on Monday the 14th.

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Excellent.

SatoriFround said:

The doctor came into the room and very quickly said he would fix the aortic aneurysm along with the aortic valve. Knowing his qualifications this was pretty much enough for me to decide to go with this doctor over the other one. I just felt like the other doctor didn't have my best interests at heart since he was basically dooming me to a second surgery some-odd years down the road.

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This makes sense. The other surgeon's plan to not take care of your aneurysm during the surgery seemed like a poor decision. Glad that the second surgeon wants to take care of it. Odds are that you will be one and done.

SatoriFround said:

He also said that theoretically you could use a lower dosage of Warfarin with the St. Jude's also, but that it hadn't been tested specifically for that purpose, whereas the On-X had. He said it was tested that way because the valve makers needed a reason to differentiate themselves in the valve market.

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My surgeon, like yours, prefers the St Jude. Also, as your surgeon did, mine told me that despite his preference for St Jude, he would go with On-x if that was what I wanted. It sounds like our surgeons also agree that the On-x lower INR push is about marketing. There was a larege head to head trial of On-x vs St Jude, and they performed the same in almost all respects. Despite the marking, On-x did not have lower rates of thrombosis. The good news is that the rates were low for both valves. They are both a good option.

Wishing you the very best of luck in your precedure and we'll see you on the other side!

SatoriFround said:

So now I don't know which valve to choose.

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When I had my mechanical valve installed, the data showed the St Jude and the On-X to be equal in all meaningful metrics. I got an On-X because my surgeon has the most experience with On-X. Perhaps that saves a few minutes on the bypass machine?

I posted on the other thread and now I see that you did decide to go with Dr. Reardon and will be at HMH. If you feel up to it, let me know where to find you and I'll come say hi. I'm in Houston on Tuesday and Thursday, so I figure you probably won't be up for a visit on Tuesday and will be home by the next Tuesday, so Thursday might be best for both of us.

St. Jude has a longer history and a more realistic INR protocol.

Lisa from LJ said:

I posted on the other thread and now I see that you did decide to go with Dr. Reardon and will be at HMH. If you feel up to it, let me know where to find you and I'll come say hi. I'm in Houston on Tuesday and Thursday, so I figure you probably won't be up for a visit on Tuesday and will be home by the next Tuesday, so Thursday might be best for both of us.

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Hi! This is the wife. Hubby is in surgery now. Not sure which valve it will be as the doctor sounded like it will depend on what he finds when he goes in. Dr. Reardon said at the consult that the valve anatomy was a bit tricky on him. I can't remember the exact verbiage. So now the waiting begins...

SatoriFound said:

Hi! This is the wife. Hubby is in surgery now. Not sure which valve it will be as the doctor sounded like it will depend on what he finds when he goes in. Dr. Reardon said at the consult that the valve anatomy was a bit tricky on him. I can't remember the exact verbiage. So now the waiting begins...

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It's been 5 hours since you posted, so I'm hoping you'll be hearing something soon, if you haven't already. Prayers that all is going well and his recovery will be seamless. I remember writing "just in case" letters to my husband and kids, who were 3 & 5, and leaving them where I knew they'd find them within a few weeks. Luckily they weren't needed and I was able to happily throw them away once I got home.

Lisa from LJ said:

It's been 5 hours since you posted, so I'm hoping you'll be hearing something soon, if you haven't already. Prayers that all is going well and his recovery will be seamless. I remember writing "just in case" letters to my husband and kids, who were 3 & 5, and leaving them where I knew they'd find them within a few weeks. Luckily they weren't needed and I was able to happily throw them away once I got home.

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He is out of surgery. :0) Dr. Reardon said the surgery went amazing and he should have a good recovery. They just removed the breathing tube a bit ago and now he is being demanding and grumpy.

SatoriFound said:

He is out of surgery. :0) Dr. Reardon said the surgery went amazing and he should have a good recovery. They just removed the breathing tube a bit ago and now he is being demanding and grumpy.

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Demanding and grumpy is a good thing...sort of! Glad to hear it went well.

Yes, except the temporary local numbing they normally do was made less functional by all the scar tissue he has in that area from his previous chest surgery when he was a child. I feel bad for him. He said he would feel better if I stayed the night even though he is mostly sleeping. So here I sit. I am exhausted but don't want to bug the nurse for a pillow and blanket....

SatoriFound said:

Yes, except the temporary local numbing they normally do was made less functional by all the scar tissue he has in that area from his previous chest surgery when he was a child. I feel bad for him. He said he would feel better if I stayed the night even though he is mostly sleeping. So here I sit. I am exhausted but don't want to bug the nurse for a pillow and blanket....

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Bug the nurse! I'll be in town tomorrow, just a shuttle away, so if you need anything, let me know.

Lisa from LJ said:

Bug the nurse! I'll be in town tomorrow, just a shuttle away, so if you need anything, let me know.

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Do you work downtown? I work down fannin a bit near the stadium.

SatoriFound said:

Yes, except the temporary local numbing they normally do was made less functional by all the scar tissue he has in that area from his previous chest surgery when he was a child. I feel bad for him. He said he would feel better if I stayed the night even though he is mostly sleeping. So here I sit. I am exhausted but don't want to bug the nurse for a pillow and blanket....

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Scar tissue is indeed a real thing. So, glad that he is through it and that it went well! You are a saint for being there with him through all of this.
Go ahead and bug the nurse for a pillow and a blanket. They will not mind and they probably really appreciate you being there with him all through this.

SatoriFound said:

Do you work downtown? I work down fannin a bit near the stadium.

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I work for Houston Methodist corporate at Greenbriar and Braeswood. Not too far from you.

Lisa from LJ said:

I work for Houston Methodist corporate at Greenbriar and Braeswood. Not too far from you.

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Nice! Hopefully hubs will go to a normal recovery room tonight. He just took his first walk. He still has a bit of fluid drainage from the chest tubes. He finally got a PCA so can push the button and control his pain relief it took about two hours and then he seemed to have gotten ahead of it finally. He was in so much pain overnight and all they would give him was Tylenol. Ugh. They said something about him still being so drowsy and trying to get him fully awake...

Chuck C said:

Scar tissue is indeed a real thing. So, glad that he is through it and that it went well! You are a saint for being there with him through all of this.
Go ahead and bug the nurse for a pillow and a blanket. They will not mind and they probably really appreciate you being there with him all through this.

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I got a good hour of sleep this morning amazingly and had a burst of energy for hubbies walk around a small section of the ICU. He got tired, but he did great! They finally gave him the pain pump, so he is doing so much better. YAY! It was so difficult watching him come out of anesthesia and mouthing help me around the breathing tube. I cried. I am a fixer, and when I can't fix I feel so anxious. He doesn't even remember it though.

SatoriFound said:

Nice! Hopefully hubs will go to a normal recovery room tonight. He just took his first walk. He still has a bit of fluid drainage from the chest tubes. He finally got a PCA so can push the button and control his pain relief it took about two hours and then he seemed to have gotten ahead of it finally. He was in so much pain overnight and all they would give him was Tylenol. Ugh. They said something about him still being so drowsy and trying to get him fully awake...

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The first night is tough, but with a normal recovery, it gets significantly better each day. Since he was drowsy, I'm guessing he still had drugs from the surgery in his system so they didn't want to overdose him. They're so hesitant to give pain meds now because of the high number of people addicted to Opioids. Most people are "scared" when they wake up with a tube in their throat because they're not alert enough and don't know what's happening. The surgeon had told me that I really wouldn't be awake until the next day, but I tend to come out of anesthesia really quickly (red hair genes do that!) so was completely aware when I woke up in Cardiac Recovery with the tube in my throat. One of my friends who worked at the hospital where I had my surgery was in the room, along with my parents and husband. She (jokingly) mentioned that she was going to take a picture of me, which I had forbade her from doing prior to the surgery, and I flipped her off! They took the tube out within the next 30 minutes and I got to eat. From the third day on, all pain meds were oral and I required very little. I did ask for something to help me sleep at night, mainly because I'm not a back sleeper and couldn't get comfortable in the hospital bed.

The fact that he's up walking is good. I was in ICU for two nights because there was no step-down bed available and they didn't encourage walking until after the cath was removed and I was moved to a regular bed (probably because it was easier for them). I don't recall your husband's age, but I was 36 and quite bored, so didn't wait for a PT to force walking once they allowed it! I just had to remember to let the guy watching the monitor remotely know that I had unhooked myself and was going to see the babies or otherwise get away from the old people floor!

Lisa from LJ said:

The first night is tough, but with a normal recovery, it gets significantly better each day. Since he was drowsy, I'm guessing he still had drugs from the surgery in his system so they didn't want to overdose him. They're so hesitant to give pain meds now because of the high number of people addicted to Opioids. Most people are "scared" when they wake up with a tube in their throat because they're not alert enough and don't know what's happening. The surgeon had told me that I really wouldn't be awake until the next day, but I tend to come out of anesthesia really quickly (red hair genes do that!) so was completely aware when I woke up in Cardiac Recovery with the tube in my throat. One of my friends who worked at the hospital where I had my surgery was in the room, along with my parents and husband. She (jokingly) mentioned that she was going to take a picture of me, which I had forbade her from doing prior to the surgery, and I flipped her off! They took the tube out within the next 30 minutes and I got to eat. From the third day on, all pain meds were oral and I required very little. I did ask for something to help me sleep at night, mainly because I'm not a back sleeper and couldn't get comfortable in the hospital bed.

The fact that he's up walking is good. I was in ICU for two nights because there was no step-down bed available and they didn't encourage walking until after the cath was removed and I was moved to a regular bed (probably because it was easier for them). I don't recall your husband's age, but I was 36 and quite bored, so didn't wait for a PT to force walking once they allowed it! I just had to remember to let the guy watching the monitor remotely know that I had unhooked myself and was going to see the babies or otherwise get away from the old people floor!

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He JUST got food. Over 24 hours after surgery, and it is liquid for now. But he enjoyed it. He got sorbet. My husband only said no videos posted on facebook, but he wanted a picture directly out of surgery so I took that. Then he ASKED me to take a pic while he was still half out of it. I told him to smile and he made this face. HAHAHA He wanted to walk IMMEDIATELY upon waking up. He has been bugging them non-stop. He still has chest tubes, HAD the urine catheter when he walked, and the neck port thingy. One of his chest tubes has more drainage than the other so they said they may try to take just the one out for now. He wants the neck thing gone. Said it gives him images of it coming out and blood shooting across the room. LOL

He is worried he won't make it out of ICU tonight, which is a possibility. It'll be whatever it is.

Sounds like a typical normal post-op recovery to me😋.