Change in Surgery Date...What to do

[ottagal]

So... aftering psyching myself up for a surgery date of September 29th, I just received a phone call from the surgeon's nurse letting me know that he is going to be away that week so we need to reschedule.

So, here's the dilemna. I could possibly go a week earlier, but he will be away if anything goes wrong after my surgery or I can wait until 2 weeks later (mid-Oct). As irrational as it sounds I am thinking of pushing it back to when the surgeon returns.

I know this is a common occurrence to get bumped and it could still happen again.

Am I crazy to want to push it back a few more weeks?

Thanks everyone for all your support and input. It is invaluable.

 

[Ross]

Wait till he comes back. In my case, I was left in critical condition in CSICU and mine went to his home in Puerto Rico to see his parents. Everything went wrong and he was not here. He was quite surprised that I was still there when he came back 2 weeks later.

 

[pamela]

I only saw my surgeon once after my surgery and then in his office at 1 month, 3 months, 6 months and a year. The visit a year after was for a final recheck on my sternotomy, it wasn't completely fused and the wires at my neck were still causing inflammation at 6 mons post.

The purpose I have in telling you this is because it's not neccessary to worry over your surgeon going away, odds are, even if you needed to return to the OR, he wouldn't be operating unless he was the on-call doc any way. He'll leave a competent colleague in charge of his post-op patients and an army of cardio-thoracic residents ready to assist in the mundanities of your recovery.

Good luck and rest easy no matter which course you choose. They wouldn't suggest you wait unless you couldn't do so. Remember the risk benefit ratio, I'll bet you're well inside those parameters.

Take Heart
Pamela.

 

[Bina]

Mine was in October and sometime during my hospital stay my surgeon flew over to Europe for a couple days to attend a conference. It didn't bother me, lots of other doctors around.
You need to decide what you feel most comfortable doing.

 

[Nancy]

I think you should wait until he returns. He knows what he'll be doing inside there, the covering surgeons won't. It sounds like it should be OK to let them handle things, but I agree with Ross to wait until he returns.

That doesn't mean that the others are incompetent, just that he would be more familiar with what went on.

Also, do not schedule surgery before any holiday or close to the weekends.

 

[ottagal]

Thank you very much for the feedback and input, Ross, Pamela, Bina and Nancy! I see there was a 50/50 split in response.

I do see the surgeon next week and am thinking to ask him straight out. "Do you feel comfortable with me waiting until mid-October" for the surgery or should I go for the week earlier in Sept?

I forgot to mention that one of the reasons I feel I want him around is because of my potential pulmonary valve repair. He is one of the very few on staff who has experience dealing with this (I have been told this is not as straightforward as the AVR and is a technically difficult procedure...still don't know if it will be done until I am in the OR and opened up). I just don't want to put myself in harm's way, waiting either.

I know that is a gamble even getting him if I had an emergency afterwards.

If I only had a crystal ball... (sigh).

 

[Bina]

True, the PVR throws another element into the mix.....ask the surgeon and tell him you are leaning towards October.

 

[kfay]

I found out a couple of weeks before my surgery that my surgeon was going to be leaving the country when I was 2 days post op. At first, I freaked out. I went back and forth about whether or not I should postpone. I eventually had a conversation with him on the phone and told him that I wasn't very comfortable with him being gone for exactly the same reasons you mentioned. He told me that if he had ANY concern about leaving me in the hands that he was while he was gone, he would tell me to postpone, but he was very confident in his staff and his fellow surgeons to handle any emergencies. I kept my original date, he left town, I was fine. You should do whatever YOU feel most comfortable with. This is already stressful with adding more fuel to the fire.

Kim

 

[Jkm7]

Absolutely ask your surgeon. Doesn't mean you don't make the final decision but his input would be very important to me.

Good luck and let us know what you decide.

 

[ALCapshaw2]

I vote with Ross and Nancy, i.e., wait until he will be around.

MOST of the time everything will go fine BUT, 'just in case', I would prefer that the guy who did the cutting and stitching be around to fix whatever went wrong.

 

[ottagal]

Thank you kfay, Jkm7 and AlCapshaw2 for your thoughts/votes. I will let you know the outcome for the new surgery date after next Tuesday's second surgical consult. Decisions, decisions...

 

[Buffy41]

The only time I saw my surgeon after surgery was 3 months later, if you comfortable waiting that is what you should do.

 

[Eva]

Ottawagal, if you feel more comfy at waiting, then wait until he returns, especially since there is no urgency for immediate surgery. Follow your guts!! Good luck. let us know what you decide.

 

[zipper2]

I agree with Eva,however mine was urgent when my surgeon's leg got broke,however my inr was stopped at home ready for lovenex as they tried to find another surgeon....all worked out in the end and i did get to meet the
surgeon with both legs doing my surgery,but scarey for abit as my inr dropped to 1 and ready to leave and i get a call of cancellation
Good luck with your decision and keep us posted.God Bless

 

[ottagal]

Thanks for the further input Buffy, Eva and Zipper2! That is the dilemna: deciding what my gut is telling me. I feel caught between a rock and a hard place.
Again, I wish the crystal ball would come up and tell me that I am not going to do further damage by prolonging the surgery date, but knowing the surgeon won't be around for a bit afterwards doesn't sound too appealing. Ross was left in CICU with serious complications while his surgeon visited family out of country. Yikes!

Then there is Zipper's story with the unforeseen circumstances. Who would have thought?

I guess the moral of this story is that I only have so much control over this. It does get mentally exhausting, doesn't it.

I will most definitely keep you all posted!

Certainly, appreciate all the positive thoughts.

 

[Bina]

Is Zipper2 (Deb) going to scare you with her story. OMG that was incredible. Stuff happens and ultimately at some point we need to give up control. That was very hard for me, but it has been a learning experience with it's own benefits.

 

[ponytaila1a]

Since you have the choice...I would wait. True most do not see the surgeon that much post surgery and things probably will be OK if he is gone....but given the choice I would just wait. That way you know he is available if something would come up that may provide a better outcome if he is available. My surgery was postponed twice....once the surgeon was going out of town on my scheduled date (scheduling failed to check) and the next time I had bronchitis. My third date was an "addition" on the day after Memorial Day....I had pretty much prepared myself that would also be canceled...but it was not. I agree...once you are psych'd for a date it is difficult to "restart"....but I would vote for the mid-October date.

 

[Ross]

I see there was a 50/50 split in response.

Hon it's that way with everything here. Valve selection, Surgeons, the whole gambit. All we can do is relate to you what we've been through and you have to take it from there.

A couple weeks longer is not likely to make much difference. I will say this, LISTEN to what your gut is telling you to do. I've learned throughout life that IT knows more then I do.

 

[ottagal]

Thanks Bina and Ross. I needed to here that to give myself a little head shake. I guess I am surprised at how a change in surgery date has kind of sent me in a bit of a tailspin. I was doing pretty good up until this (all things considered). It is probably the usual jitters/fear starting to play out as I get closer to the date (whenever that will be ).

I realize that I am the only one who can ultimately make the final decision.

Ponytail, you hit the nail on the head: "Once you are psych'd for a date it is difficult to "restart"....

Thanks everyone for your understanding and allowing me to 'talk' this out. You guys are great.

 

[Jkm7]

You keep talking it out as much as you need.
No one can understand the way we do.... Only those who have been there.
This is such a life changing event in our lives that most of us struggle before fully accepting and making peace with it all.

We are all here to help in any way that we are able.