Had My Surgery

[Amanda]

Hi All,

I had my surgery back in June 10th (I had my 8 week anniversary this past Thursday) and all went well. The surgery was at Good Samaritan Hospital in LA and my surgeon was Dr. Ali Gheissari. I really, really liked him. My cardiologist is Dr. David Cannom and he is like a father to me. Saw to it I got the best surgeon, the nicest room in the hospital, and the best care.
I had a very leaky valve that Dr. Cannom discovered on May 11th. He said it was so bad (chordae rupture, 50% regurg) that he wasn't sure a repair was a slam dunk. Thankfully, Dr. Gheissari was able to repair it. The consensus was to do a sternotomy because, as Cannom said, there was too much to do in such a little incision. I have pictures if anybody wants to see my scar. I am a tiny bit proud.
If there is one negative thing, it's that I get lots of pvc's, especially during exercise. Trying to work through that.
If anybody has any questions, I would love to answer anything.
xxoo,
Amanda

 

[Luckyguy17]

Congrats Amanda, sounds like you are well into recovery at 8 weeks in, good for you. Am about 3 weeks ahead of you and have also had a good recovery, with no majot bumps.

Amanda have tried to look up acronym "pvc's", with no success. Is PVC acronym a form of a-fib, that you get when exercising?

Wishing you continued good recovery

Gil

 

[nngbwh]

Great to hear you are doing well. Thanks for the update.

 

[Amanda]

Hi Gil,
PVC's, if I remember correctly, are pre-mature ventricular contractions. At my appt with the cardiologist a few weeks ago, Dr. Cannom heard them while listening to my heart and ordered an ekg that confirmed the irregular rhythm was PVC's. They are nothing to worry about but if you get them, they are so irritating and uncomfortable. I get them especially when I'm stressed or sometimes exercising (the cardiologist office stresses me out).
Congrats on the Kryptonite Glue. I got glue but don't know if it was the Superman kind I'm going to post a picture. I tried to keep it PG-13. I hope I don't offend anybody. If I do, I will delete immediately.
Amanda

 

[ARGreenMN]

Glad you're doing well Amanda. Lots of us had PVCs, and some of us even had that turn into afib. But like you said, neither are typically considered dangerous (as long as you're anti-coagulated) but definitely something you want to get checked out just to make sure it's part of the normal healing process like so many are. I don't think you're gonna offend anyone with your pics - heck if anyone was gonna offend anyone it'd be guys like Gil & I when we posted ours

 

[Luckyguy17]

Hi Gil,
PVC's, if I remember correctly, are pre-mature ventricular contractions. I'm going to post a picture. I tried to keep it PG-13. I hope I don't offend anybody. If I do, I will delete immediately.
Amanda

Hi Amanda, thanks for clarification on pvc's, am unaware of having any ireegularities in heartbeat since surgery, have begun working out a few weeks ago and still cannnot get above 105 BPM, am assuming bisoprolol is controling this and trying to figure out a timeline and way to wean off the beta blocker.

For pic posting, there is a private to members section of the forum at this location

http://www.valvereplacement.org/forums/forumdisplay.php?28-The-Order-Of-The-Tawdry-Shirt-(TOOTS)

At about 11 weeks post op, my scar is now really difficult to see (furry guy on upper chest), the 4 drain holes are more prominent though and will likely remain so for a very long time, no big deal.

Gil

 

[Lily]

Hi All,

I had my surgery back in June 10th (I had my 8 week anniversary this past Thursday) and all went well. The surgery was at Good Samaritan Hospital in LA and my surgeon was Dr. Ali Gheissari. I really, really liked him. My cardiologist is Dr. David Cannom and he is like a father to me. Saw to it I got the best surgeon, the nicest room in the hospital, and the best care.
I had a very leaky valve that Dr. Cannom discovered on May 11th. He said it was so bad (chordae rupture, 50% regurg) that he wasn't sure a repair was a slam dunk. Thankfully, Dr. Gheissari was able to repair it. The consensus was to do a sternotomy because, as Cannom said, there was too much to do in such a little incision. I have pictures if anybody wants to see my scar. I am a tiny bit proud.
If there is one negative thing, it's that I get lots of pvc's, especially during exercise. Trying to work through that.
If anybody has any questions, I would love to answer anything.
xxoo,
Amanda

Hi Amanda -

I had my valve replacement at Good Samaritan seven years ago. My cardio still practices there but my surgeon is elsewhere now.

Glad you are doing so well Hopefully the extra heartbeats will settle down for you; hearts can take a few months or more to settle down after an invasive open heart surgery procedure. Also, sometimes PVCs will show up more often if your minerals are not in a good balance, which can be caused by many things, including lots of sweating, or some heart medications can contribute to this. Anyway, your doctor can do a simple blood test to check for that as a cause and if it is the problem, he will know the solution for you. Best wishes

 

[artsyfish]

3 weeks post op and had PVCs last week. Mine happened when I drank cold drinks! Went to the ER the second day they started up. Had never been told the term before. Seem to have quit now. Congrats on your progress!

 

[swim mom]

I had my surgery a few weeks before you and I had PVCs before surgery but I have far more since surgery. They drive me nuts but my heart is like a child; when I go to the doctor it is fine and it is better than normal when I have a holter monitor! MY cardiologist and electophysiologist both say to try to wait and see if they improve by 6 months post surgery. I have problems with beta blockers because I have low blood pressure so I don't take any.

 

[malibu82]

congrats and best wishes on your recovery!