Conflicting Advice from Surgeon and Cardiologist

[guyinva]

Had my two month follow-up with my surgeon on Wednesday. He said I was doing great and he didn't need to see me for a year :biggrin2: when he would do a follow-up CT-Angiogram. I am a little confused about something he said though. I asked him how long it took for the sternum to completely heal and how long I needed to be careful on what/how much I lifted and worrying about my activities. He told me that the sternum normally heals in about 8 weeks and that I could do whatever I wanted but I would be sore for a while longer. He said that my body would tell me what I could and couldn't do. Two weeks ago I saw my cardiologist and asked the same question. He said it could take six months to a year to completely heal and that I should be very careful about doing strenuous activities. Now I'm really confused.

What advice did you get from your surgeon and/or cardiologist? Which one's advice should I take? I feel great and want to get back to as normal of a routine as I can but I don't want to do something that will cause problems.

 

[Freddie]

Very good question!
MPO is that they are both right. 6 weeks or more for the sternum to heal, when doing any heavy lifting before or after that your body will tell you "you've can't do that yet".

Best thing to do is to listen to your body and never push yourself passed the "point".

 

[Greg a]

Now not only are they both right but so is Freddie the sternum will heal and mend in the 8 weeks but to fully heal including conective tissues and resume your work as a tight-end in the NFL will be a solid six months !!!

It is the connective tissue that is the reason for caution for heavy and strenuous tasks

 

[catwoman]

The reason both are right is that yes, it does take about 6-8 weeks for the bone to heal itself over with a sternotomy. However, the rest of your body needs to heal and you need to regain your stamina to go back to "normalcy" and it doesn't always happen by 8 weeks. I had really good days and I would overdo things, and thus took several steps backward for a while. My surgery was 6/24/2003, and I remember being at a very very large event 5 months later in the George R. Brown Convention Center in downtown Houston, Texas, and feeling totally wiped out. Didn't think I had enough strength to drive my rental car back to my hotel by the airport. 2-3 months later, I had another episode like this; in fact, I was so wiped out on Saturday that I contemplated going to the ER while in San Antonio, Texas. Instead, I went to bed early that night and felt like a new woman on Sunday.

I was told pre-op that it would probably take 6-12 months before I was consistently feeling good, and that was correct.

You will probably overdo it on days you feel really great, and end up taking a couple of steps backward. Don't worry. You'll recover. We've all been there, done that.

 

[yotphix]

I was told that It would be six to eight weeks too, before the sternum was knitted, and I was asked not to return to my strenuous job for 6 months. That gave connective tissues time to heal, gave my ventricle time to return to normal size, and allowed me to regain the necessary fitness to do my job. I should say too, that I still have pain when I really strain my chest muscles, pulling sideways and the like. I also ache a bit in damp weather. This is 18 months in. Nothing has been too bad except when I foolishly laid a hardwood floor in my rental property 7 weeks after surgery. I wouldn't recommend that.

 

[normofthenorth]

Something tells me it might take me a LONG time before I want to do a classic volleyball "dive for the ball" again -- bend knees, launch horizontally, land with your sternum on the floor (YEE-YIKES!!), and skid before and after playing the ball.

 

[Philip B]

Surgeon?

Surgeon?

Interesting... your surgeon wants to do a follow-up with you at one year post-op? Mine turned be completely back over to my cardiologist after a couple of months.

-Philip

 

[New Guy]

My sternum was pain free at 3 months. Then I carried too much drywall from the garage to the basement and I woke up to lots of pain that lasted a month. My cardio said I didn't hurt my sternum but would likely feel pain with strenuous activity for up to 2 years due to the surgery.

Now can you tell me when my knee will stop aching?

 

[Mentu]

We talk about our sternum as though it is the only object of concern. For most people the bone takes about two months to heal, but beyond the bones healing there are the chest muscles. After the two halves of the sternum have knitted themselves back together, the chest muscles need to be gradually conditioned & strengthened. The basic guideline in Cardiac Rehab is "No upper body exercise until 12 weeks post op". At that point, a program of graduated exercise can begin to restore the chest muscles without any problem. Anyone who tries to force things along too quickly is likely to live with a very sore chest even though the sternum is fully healed.

Larry

 

[ALCapshaw2]

I agree with all of the above.

My understanding is that the sternum is healed to 80% of it's strength at 6 weeks and 100% at 12 weeks.

As everyone has said, it can take 6 months to a year (or more) to 'recondition the body' to realize the full recovery potential. Cardiac Rehabilitation is a good way to start the process if your insurance will cover the costs. Most Doc's recommend waiting at least 6 weeks before starting cardiac rehab.

And to Echo the above comments, "Let your body be the guide". When it says STOP, then STOP!

'AL Capshaw'

 

[Marguerite53]

Something tells me it might take me a LONG time before I want to do a classic volleyball "dive for the ball" again -- bend knees, launch horizontally, land with your sternum on the floor (YEE-YIKES!!), and skid before and after playing the ball.

Yes! I would wait at least 3 months and quite possibly 7 or 8. Our daughter is an All-American volleyball player, OH, but plays all around -- we have a photo from high school State Finals (yep, they won that year) that a newspaper guy (with an amazing camera) took of her where she is fully extended, as you describe -- before she skidded across the floor! Just putting that image and your description together makes me want to agree with you!! How about setting -- time for a move to the front row? :wink2:

I also go the boot from my surgeon after my 3rd post-op visit. He said to call him any time, but turned me over to my cardio.

I think "testing the waters" is a phrase you might want to consider. Even after the maximum wait period, there will be certain things that your body will not enjoy. Will those actually damage you? Probably not. But they can lead to some serious down days and a lot of advil afterwards. Having never broken anything I don't know, but I imagine those who've broken ankles, legs, arms and such experience the same thing.

I'm coming up on 5 years post op. The weather here is generally poor in the winter, but we've had exceptionally heavy rain the past few days. We dropped our daughter off at the airport this morning (she's a tall, strong young woman) and she gave me a huge hug. It didn't hurt a lot, but I was surprised enough at the pain to mention it to my husband. Just a twinge and then it was gone. Must be the rain..........

I think we all make mistakes in the first few months and twist of forgetfully lift or push something and it doesn't seem to ruin us. But the sternotomy definitely is there, under the scar -- it just isn't debilitating -- just reminds us every once in awhile.

Marguerite