From valve selection forum now onto your.....

[Mary]

'Chest tube' was what Robyn wrote down and others confirmed... Do you call it the 'vent tube'?

Adam,
I'm going to offer you some advice.
If Robyn is your fiancee, and she's the one who used the word "chest tube" instead of vent, and it passed your editor, you better get an editor who is familar with heart surgeries before you publish your next book.

 

[Bradley White]

Then vent tube is no fun at all. It's better if you have prepared yourself that you will be waking up with this giant tube down your throat. After my first surgery I didn't realize I would be waking up with this tube in my throat so I was really scared. Not too mention that I was strapped down and my eyes had been manually shut with vaseline. No fun at all. I freaked a little and made a mean gestures to the nurse as she scolded me for jerking around so violently.

The second surgery was not nearly as bad in terms of the vent tube. When I woke up I immediately realized what was going on. I stayed calm. This is not to say that it was a comfortable experience. Every ten minutes or so I would point to the tube in a gesture to the nurse to remove it. Eventualy she said my stats were at a point that the tube could be removed.

I don't remember if just the nurse was there or if my family was there too when I first woke up. I believe my family was there and all game me encouraging looks. My girlfriend remembers me squeezing her hand when she left late that night around 1 am. Sometime during the night the tube came out.

It has been about 5 months since that second surgery and I can honestly say that my memories of the vent tube are quickly fading. It is usually not so bad if you are prepared for it. Please wish Scott luck and try to keep him calm in these trying days before surgery.

best wishes,

Brad

 

[Adam 12-21-05]

Adam,
I'm going to offer you some advice.
If Robyn is your fiancee, and she's the one who used the word "chest tube" instead of vent, and it passed your editor, you better get an editor who is familar with heart surgeries before you publish your next book.

Great advice.

Then again...

Nobody is perfect.



Mistakes happen. Time to fix it...

Thanks!

 

[WayneGM]

I want to repeat again that some have the tube removed before they are really too aware of it.

I was one of these. They were just removing it as I was starting to wake it. I only have a vague recollection of it, and do rcall resisting it at all. It was probably worse for my wife as she saw me with it and said it looked terribly uncomfortable. However, since I was out cold the whole time, it didn't bother me at all. I hope your son has a similar experience. Good luck.

 

[QueenVictoria]

Vent tube...

Vent tube...

is really a big thing....I'm frightened for Scott.I told him to breathe with the vent and to try and stay calm. I'm very apprehensive being there when he first wakes- do they let parents in before he wakes? When he wakes ( I have seen my Dad go thru OHS) so I know what he'll look like. BUT that vent scares the sh-t outta me and his panic. Did I mention he suffers from panic/anxiety? Me,too. Being out of control is a real prob for P/A sufferers. What does he have to be able to do before they pull that vent? Did anyone ever wake up w/o it in anymore? Yikes- stress!!!!!

 

[Mary]

I woke up without it!
HURRAY!
I would suggest that you discuss your fears with the anesthesiologist BEFORE surgery, and I am sure they will help Scott. Don't forget, they want his surgery experience to go just as smoothly as you do!

 

[ruth]

This may sound counter intuitive but it's what I was told happened (I was too out of it to remember). The part I do remember about the vent is that I disliked it. I suffer from panic/anxiety from time to time and I have no memory of a panic attack happening over the vent. I just wanted it out. While my husband was there (the love of my life for 30 years now) I would (they tell me) not stop motioning to my husband about getting it out. I apparently did not calm down until a nurse suggested that as difficult as it was for my husband to leave for awhile. Once I knew there was nobody there who would listen to me I calmed down and accepted the vent for what it was, an annoyance.

Your son will do fine, he need not panic now but if he does that's normal too. It's a strange experience but very do-able.

Best Regards,
Ruth

 

[Arlyss]

Life Saving Surgery

Life Saving Surgery

I responded to a thread under the Valve forum, but I would like to respond here also.

Reading the details of what is in Scott's chest, described at the beginning of this thread, there are a number of things typical of BAVD - the malformed aortic valve leaflets, the ascending aortic aneurysm, and even the WPW.

Scott's aorta has grown to a very large size in less than a year. That in itself is an indicator that he is at risk of aortic tearing/rupture and needs surgery as soon as possible.

The day of surgery will be a very good day; not an easy day in many ways, but a very good day because the aneurysm that represents a very real danger to him now will be gone. This is indeed life saving surgery. There will be a new valve also, and that will be so good for his heart! The choices you are called on to make now are not easy, but they are life saving! The surgical/hospital experience seems strange now, but it may help to think of it as all aimed at just one goal, the best possible result for Scott!

Prior to surgery, the ventilator is one of the things that can seem so frightening. One of the first goals after surgery is to get them off the vent and breathing on their own as soon as possible! I will tell you that my husband has gone through this three times and while not looking forward to it, he did very well. Your son will too! Technology continues to improve, and one thing my husband told me is that the vent tubes used now are better than the one he had the first time - smaller and more comfortable.

My husband wanted to talk to me and couldn't, of course, until the tube was out. One thing that family can do is tell them what they most want to know - that the surgery went fine, they have their new valve, the aneurysm is all gone, and they are doing just great! You can bring positive energy and love into that room in ICU - so important!

Best wishes to Scott and to you. And before too long, you and others in your family will want to check on your valves and aorta also, if you have not already done so! BAVD is genetic and may affect multiple family members.

Arlyss