I Made It!!! On The Other Side

[clawie1]

On July 20, I posted a thread "From ER to surgery in 5 days!" as I sat in my room waiting for surgery on Monday, July 22. I was released Monday, July 29. You bet I was scared, but there are few options when you have severe aortic stenosis and hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (a hardening of a portion of my heart muscle). Once I was out of ICU, I was encouraged to get moving to get those lungs pumped up again. For all of you waiting for surgery, I can relate to your anxiety but trust me, once it is over you will feel so fortunate to be given a second chance at life.

Age 73
Minimally Invasive Aortic Valve Replacement
21 mm St. Jude Porcine Valve
Septal Myomectomy

 

[knotguilty]

Congratulations! I will be a year post-op in october. I still continue to feel better every day. I will be running my second 5k this weekend and biking 25 miles the next weekend. Hope you continue to feel better!

 

[dg_moore]

Congrats! I had my AVR Friday July 26 and am now (Tuesday July 30) back home. This is my first post in the Post-Surgery forum.

I was a little nervous going in, but not bad. The hardest thing for me remains getting out of bed by myself. I am quite strong, but I still can't muster the leverage necessary to swing my legs off the bad while rotating into a sitting position. My wife is helping me with this, and I expect it to get better. Thanks to all for your encouragement and kind thoughts!

Dave

 

[enkaynj]

Congrats clawie1. It is very rare we hear about patients who have undergone minimally invasive AVR. Most of us here are OHS patients. Can you enlighten us to what this procedure entails ? is it done through a couple of small cuts in the chest or is it done via threading through the femoral artery ?
Thanks

 

[clawie1]

Congrats clawie1. It is very rare we hear about patients who have undergone minimally invasive AVR. Most of us here are OHS patients. Can you enlighten us to what this procedure entails ? is it done through a couple of small cuts in the chest or is it done via threading through the femoral artery ?
Thanks

I am happy to share my experience. First, not everyone qualifies for minimally invasive AVR, I am fortunate I passed the test. What this means is that after my angiogram, my cardio said my arteries were "pristine". If however I showed any signs of coronary artery disease, it would have knocked me out of the loop for minimally invasive AVR replacement and I would have had traditional open chest procedure. (I guess my zumba, cardiokickboxing, and strength training paid off). My angiogram showed a secondary problem though - a portion of my heart muscle was hardened a condition known as Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy. So in addition to the the AVR, the surgeon had to "smooth" that portion of muscle which required cracking a rib so they would have more space for the procedure (Septal Myomectomy). A 3" inch incision was made below the collar bone above the right breast. I experienced very little pain after surgery.

The surgery was performed at Keck Medical Center of USC, Los Angeles and I can't say enough about the surgeon, Dr. Cunningham, the nurses, and hospital - they are top notch. I thought about going out of town for this procedure, but my family is here in LA and I knew I made the right decision. Hope this helps. Clawie 1 aka Nita

 

[AmyR]

congrats. i am 6 weeks post op and feeling good. Life is just as normal post op.

 

[Heart Of The Sunrise]

Congrats!!!! It is an awesome feeling!!!:thumbup:

 

[Jkm7]

Congrats clawie1. It is very rare we hear about patients who have undergone minimally invasive AVR. Most of us here are OHS patients. Can you enlighten us to what this procedure entails ? is it done through a couple of small cuts in the chest or is it done via threading through the femoral artery ?
Thanks

Mimimally invasive AVR is OHS.
It is not percutaneous/trans cath.

 

[AZ Don]

Minimally invasive is neither percutaneous nor what is considered traditional OHS. From: http://my.clevelandclinic.org/heart/disorders/valve/aorticvalvesurgery.aspx

Traditional Aortic Valve Surgery
During traditional aortic valve surgery, a surgeon makes a 6- to 8-inch incision down the center of your sternum, and part or all of the sternum (breastbone) is divided to provide direct access to your heart. The surgeon then repairs or replaces your abnormal heart valve or valves.

Minimally Invasive Aortic Valve Surgery
Minimally invasive aortic valve surgery is a type of aortic valve repair surgery performed through smaller, 2- to 4-inch incisions without opening your whole chest. This is typically done with a “J” incision and leaves your chest stable. Minimally invasive surgery reduces blood loss, trauma, length of hospital stay and may accelerate recovery.

Most patients who require isolated aortic valve surgery are candidates for minimally invasive aortic valve surgery, but your surgeon will review your diagnostic tests and determine if you are a candidate for this type of surgery.

 

[SuzanneSLO]

Its sounds like Nita (clawie1) had a minithoracotomy, which is more common for mitral valve but certainly also used for aortic valve repairs or replacements.

I had a ministernotomy (also called a hemisternotomy) for my AVR and repair of my aorta. I think the term "traditional" sternotomy is being replaced with "full" sternotomy. -- Suzanne

 

[clawie1]

Minimally invasive is neither percutaneous nor what is considered traditional OHS. From: http://my.clevelandclinic.org/heart/disorders/valve/aorticvalvesurgery.aspx

I thoroughly agree with this distinction and by the way, the article pretty well reinforces the difference. Nita

 

[clawie1]

Congratulations! I will be a year post-op in october. I still continue to feel better every day. I will be running my second 5k this weekend and biking 25 miles the next weekend. Hope you continue to feel better!

That's great news. I would love to get to the point having full use of my lungs and get off this breathing device. I would love to get back to the gym but the cardio said one day at a time. Good luckon your 5k, Nita

 

[clawie1]

Congrats! I had my AVR Friday July 26 and am now (Tuesday July 30) back home. This is my first post in the Post-Surgery forum.

I was a little nervous going in, but not bad. The hardest thing for me remains getting out of bed by myself. I am quite strong, but I still can't muster the leverage necessary to swing my legs off the bad while rotating into a sitting position. My wife is helping me with this, and I expect it to get better. Thanks to all for your encouragement and kind thoughts!

Dave

Doesn't it feel great to be on this side now? I know there are hiccups along the way and I get a little frustrated too because I am so active but I know this will all pass. Good luck to you on your recovery Clawie1 aka Nita

 

[clawie1]

congrats. i am 6 weeks post op and feeling good. Life is just as normal post op.

Thanks - are you able to almost resume most of your activities? Clawie1 aka Nita