Back Surgery after a Bentall's procedure...

[ilallu]

Hi,

My father had the Bentall procedure done last year (last April) and had a bioprosthesis valve replacement for the aortic valve. He's doing remarkably well considering his age (80 years), has recoverd completely from the surgery an his life is back to normal. his only medications are baby aspirin and a cholesterol reducing drug other than vitamins. His blood pressure is normal and he's not on any BP lowering medications or anything else.

Recently he's been having very severe back pain attributed to spinal stenosis and has been told by the Orthopedic surgeon that he needs to have a laminectomy done to reduce the pressure on the spinal nerves. The Laminectomy (and possibly a spinal fusion) surgery will take about 2-3 hours during which time he needs to be on his stomach (under anesthesia of course). The surgeon doesn't feel there's a risk to having this kind of srugery after the Bentall procedure. But there are some doctors that believe that such surgery requiring one to be on the stomach for such a long time after heart surgery is risky due to the possibility of blood pressure fluctuations that could occur.

My question to all of you out there who have had any kind of back surgery after having had heart surgery (vavle replacement, Bentall's procedure etc.), have you or your doctors had similar concerns ? Had these kind of risks been discussed. It would be nice to hear the opinions of other people's doctors on teh same topic.

Thanks,
LK

 

[Superbob]

LK,

First, welcome to the forum -- glad you have joined us.

Your post strikes close to home for me. I had a Bentall's 5 years ago -- and I also have spinal stenosis. I have tried to deal mine through physical therapy and losing weight but if I am lucky enough to live to 80 I might well face what your father is facing.

Sorry, I don't have an answer to your question. I only know that in sleeping on my stomach at night I still have to prop up on 2 or 3 pillows to feel comfortable. Lying on my stomach perfectly flat would be uncomfortable. I don't know what the medical consequences might be, if any.

Would think it would be reasonable to get some other doctors' opinions on this. This is not all that common a problem, I would think

Will also look forward to what others here have to say.

Please keep us posted. Wishing all the best for your dad.

 

[kfay]

After having lived through this surgery with my mother who was 76 at the time of her surgery, I would urge you to proceed very cautiously. My mother had an orthopedic surgeon do hers and the covering to her spine got three tears in it due to her age, they said it was like tissue paper. The surgeon was not able to microsurgically sew this back together so he had to call other surgeons into the room. Her 2-3 hour surgery wound up lasting 12 hours. She then wound up in the hospital/rehab for 6 weeks, followed by 3 months of living in my house with a nurse and pt coming in. It took 2 years before she was fully recovered. She now has daily nerve pain from the surgery that she now goes to a pain clinic for. A neurosurgeon talked about going back in to help her and I told her to find a new daughter. I'm not willing to go through it again.

As far as his heart is concerned, I wouldn't go on what the OS is saying, instead, I would go straight to his cardiac surgeon who did his Bentall and ask him what his thoughts are.

I really wish you the best with this procedure and hope that he has a better outcome than my mom did.


Kim

 

[Jkm7]

Definitely I would suggest speaking with his cardiac surgeon......... actually, several cardiac surgeons. Yours is a very important question. IMO
Best Wishes.

 

[Kathy McCain]

I am presently having back problems myself, due to a pinched nerve, which is from mild arthritis in the L-4/L-5 region. I also have a mild stenosis. I have had three spinal injections and seem to be doing better. I have consulted with a surgeon, and if it starts up again their recomendation is to shedule another consult. So there may be back surgery in my future. The surgeon is familiar of course with my AVR history. The nurse has told me this type of surgery puts the least amount of stress on the heart. She also said they have had a good success rate. Sorry I don't have the exact statistics. I had my AVR done Feb 2008. Also I am alot younger than your dad, (56) but it sounds like he is having a faster recovery that I did!

 

[JeffM]

Well, I had back surgery 6 months after my AVR (no Bentall), but I am in my early 50s. Also, my back surgery was a microdiscectomy (L4-L5), which isn't as long and involved as spinal fusion. Any big surgery strains the whole body quite a bit and there's always concern with folks in their 80s or older about overall health to withstand that strain. My advice is continue to research it and get a second opinion so you are satisfied you've vovered the possibilities and risks and can make the best decision.