5 wks. Post-Op chest pain and discomfort.

[kars]

Folks-
I am 5 wks. post valve repair (Mt Sinai/DavidAdams mitral & tri.); all has been well, weight loss gone, b pressure great, incision pink and healing, w/ the usual tiredness, shortness of breath, incision discomfort; all to be expected.
But one thing remains. Maybe an inch above the top of the incision; an inch to the right; in the middle, upper chest. It is always there, in a dull, low way. But whenever I turn on my side in bed, or just move a little, I get a sharp, focused pain.
I thought at first it was the lungs, cause everytime I cough, sneeze, it hurts like hell?
Doing well on the spirometer.
Called the head nurse, (I am away from the hospital) and she mentioned the metal bands wrapped around the sternum. Asked if I was thin (I am).
1st follow-up exam next week.
Should I be concerned? She didn't seem to be. Is the bone not healing? This hurts. Any advice?

 

[Greg a]

The sternum takes a while to heal depending on how wellou adhere to the "srenal precautions"

I would not be too converned as there could be several factors in play here :
a) sternal wires i) loose
ii) setting
iii) movement
b) still sore from rib spreader placement

Any of these will be amplifed because you are thin and so it goes but it does sound like you are doing well................keep on recovering and soon it will all be a memory

 

[drivetopless]

I wouldn't worry too much yet. I'm 5 months post op and still have rib/cartilidge tenderness when I press on different areas of my chest. I would also say I had similar pain that you describe above for the first 3 or so months. I was worried the sternum wasn't healing properly because I had a lot of popping and what felt like movement and stabbing pain for a long time. I can't recall when it went away, but it has gotten a LOT better this last month. I can now sneeze without pain.

 

[WandaW]

I had severe pain in the area you described and it was from the drainage tube placed to the right of my sternum. It felt so much better when they removed the tube, but I had some discomfort there for seversl weeks, less without the tube, but present just the same. Be sure and ask during your appt. I finally looked for photos of my type of surgery at about 10 weeks, and it is NO wonder we have some strange aches and pains.

 

[Cooker]

At 5 weeks you have a lot of healing to do. I would not be worried at this point.

 

[nngbwh]

You just went through a major surgery. Be patience you are still in recovery mode. You will feel better soon
Make sure you are not lifting anything heavy.

 

[erik_delcast]

Default 5 wks. Post-Op chest pain and discomfort.

Folks-
I am 5 wks. post valve repair (Mt Sinai/DavidAdams mitral & tri.); all has been well, weight loss gone, b pressure great, incision pink and healing, w/ the usual tiredness, shortness of breath, incision discomfort; all to be expected.
But one thing remains. Maybe an inch above the top of the incision; an inch to the right; in the middle, upper chest. It is always there, in a dull, low way. But whenever I turn on my side in bed, or just move a little, I get a sharp, focused pain.
I thought at first it was the lungs, cause everytime I cough, sneeze, it hurts like hell?
Doing well on the spirometer.
Called the head nurse, (I am away from the hospital) and she mentioned the metal bands wrapped around the sternum. Asked if I was thin (I am).
1st follow-up exam next week.
Should I be concerned? She didn't seem to be. Is the bone not healing? This hurts. Any advice?

Male, 60-Mitral valve prolapse (born w/ it) 2010 valves damaged from bacterial endocarditis, requiring valve replacement. Risk factor-Familial Thrombocytopenia.

hi my name is erik,
i have just entered into my 3rd week post op and last night i had similar pains and discomfort. it started out early in the day with a constant stomach ache and i would say about 4pm it progressed to the sharp pain in the middle incision areaon my chest just to the right the pain also was prominent underneath my lung when exhaling being the most severe, the pain radiated to my back in the middle lower corner just off my shoulder blade and shot up my neck. i had these pains before a few days after my surgery while still in the CICU but it never radiated up my neck or caused pain in my rib area underneath my lung. after trying a few pain management exercises, meds, and an influenced bowel movement with a suppository the pain seemed to dissipate. just after an hour though the pains came back at full force and were unbearable and limited my breathing due to the pain caused by the breaths. my wife took me to the ER and they ran a series of tests but did not find any visible problems. they put a pain med in my IV and i feel a sleep. when i woke an hour and a half later the pain was completely gone and they sent me home. now i have an appointment with my surgeon to see what could have caused this, i just hope that the can find out before another trip to the ER, it was a bad night. hopefully this pain is only temporary since i already have to deal with the sudden temperature changes and discomfort sleeping habits.