Aortic Valve replacement study/risks.

[Mark Wagner]

Aortic Valve replacement study/risks.

http://www.heartcenteronline.com/myheartdr/home/research-detail.cfm?reutersid=3674&nl=4

 

[Ross]

"It was found that the overall incidence of "operative mortality" (i.e., within 30 days) in aortic valve replacement was 3.8 percent. Contributing factors included emergency operation, kidney disease and simultaneous mitral valve replacement."

I wonder how much of that 3.8 percent may have suffered a hospital acquired infection? I notice they make no note to such events. It's all too common! I darn near became one of those statistics twice. Both of my surgeries resulted in Hospital acquired infections and both times, I nearly died.

 

[Nancy]

There was a man in our community that had (I believe) an abdominal aortic anneurysm. He had 10 surgeries and eventually passed away from a hospital borne infection which couldn't be cured with any known medication. He received whatever treatment could be done for him, at a very prestigious hospital.

I felt very sad about it because he was the picture of health several years ago, was extremely brave throughout all of his surgeries, and died due to infection.

As far as the medical field has come, there is still so much to be learned.

Each time Joe has to go into the hospital, this risk is always a possibility. I know it, Joe knows it and so do his doctors. I am hoping that his current regimen will keep him out of the hospital for a long time. So far, so good, only a couple of hours in the ER, and the first summer in about 6 years (or so it seems) that he has been "non-incarcerated".

I thoroughly understand your points, Ross.

 

[Enudely]

keeping my membership

keeping my membership

Hi
I'm just insuring that I don't get "cleaned out" of the system on the 31st!!
I will likely have to have my aortic replaced some day and the hospital aquired infection scares me a bit!!

 

[fyrfytr]

Hey Mark,
Thanks for the info. The site was very informative. I agree with Ross.
Dave

Keep your fires small!
_____________________________________
Surgery: 4/21/03
Aortic Aneurysm Repair
AVR, with a St. Jude Mechanical
Heart Center of the Rockies

 

[LoraW30]

Fortunately, I have only had one infection after an aortic valve replacement and that was when I was 6. No problems in the more recent replacement surgeries and there have been 2 since then.

 

[LUVMyBirman]

Did you ever take a real good look at patient restrooms in the hospital? Most that I have seen, community hospitals, university hospitals, etc are all filthy. They use the same mops to wash all the floors. It's a wonder infections spread like wildfire. When I was in the hospital for my MVR my family would take a pair of gloves with their own disinfectant and clean my bathroom! May sound hyper, but we knew it was clean.

 

[Nancy]

P.S. This is a little graphic and might not be pleasant to read**


It's true Gina, sad, but true. One time Joe was in the hospital (not our main local one), and his bathroom was so absolutely filthy, he had to walk down the hall with his IV pole, and off the unit to use the waiting room bathroom, which wasn't too clean either.

Another time in this same hospital, he was in for some minor procedure, and waiting for his Coumadin level to get normalized. They put him in the unit that had a lot of Nursing Home patients. They were all on Depends, and right as you entered the unit, there was a storage room that contained all the used Depends for the unit. I have no idea how often that room was cleaned out, but the entire floor reeked. I don't know how the medical personnel can stand to be working in these environments. I have always brought Purell hand-cleaner for Joe to use when in the hospital.

Plus the staff was so overloaded with work, they were telling patients who wanted the bedpan, to just go in the bed, because they didn't have the time to get one for them.

I fight like mad to never let him go to that particular hospital.

The worst thing I ever saw was when he was in for something, can't remember what, but he was horribly ill. A poor patient down the hall had a life-threatening incident and was bleeding profusely. All personnel were summoned to help with the situation, and they were cleaning blood up off the floor. They all had gloves on, of course. Joe was in need of something, and in came one of the nurses, with the same dirty gloves on to see what he wanted. I about had a fit. I made him take off his gloves and wash up and put on a fresh pair of gloves. Who knows what would have happened if I hadn't seen that particular thing.

This is not an indictment of any particular hospital.

Things like this have happened at every hospital he's ever been at, including some out of state. This is why I try to be there much of the time.

Short of having a supervisor on duty at all times in every corner of the hospital, I don't know what the answer is. Many of these things happen out of the sight of management or the doctors who are there briefly. And the cleaning supervisors don't seem to come around much.

YUCK!