I went to my GP re..shoulder !

[Scottie]

My GP thinks that with the surgery and a car accident I had some yrs ago that I have a frozen shoulder and some neck damage which was made worse by the surgery and this is why after such a time I'm still feeling it ...I've got anti inflammatories and an appointment with a physio for next week . My GP is also concerned that the clips in my chest have come so much to the surface and are causing some discomfort ...she is writing to my hospital about having some of them removed ..
I've read that some people in here have had this done ..anyone able to tell me what this would entail ?
Thanks
Scottie

 

[Rich]

Hi Scottie,
Iv'e still got all the wires in my chest but I know there are a few here who had some removed. I think it requires a day in the hospital.
I was in a car accident many years ago and suffered some neck injury. I have a big piece broken out of a vertabre in my neck, it is still there caught in the muscle tissue.
I had frozen shoulders in the mid to late eighties, tried injections and so forth. Didn't work.
So my wife contacted the Detroit Lions orthepedic surgeon.
I went to see him and after all the tests and so forth he said good news/bad news.
The good news was the frozen shoulders would go away on their own. The bad news was it would take a long time and it did.
They did give me simple exercises to do and I beleive that helped.

 

[hensylee]

Scottie - Nicole (ILoveNY) had hers pulled. She spent some time in the hosp. Several others had some pulled and mayhap they will see this and come in to make remarks. Don't believe any of them had a hard time with the removal.

BTW, had that MRI yesterday and they said if I felt burning in chest to let them know (metal, you know). So if anybody has to have one, don't forget to mention your chest wires.

 

[Gail in Ca]

I had all my wires removed 8 mos after surgery at Stanford as an out patient. I went off coumadin 3 days before surgery and resumed it again the day of surgery at dinnertime.
It only took about 20 minutes I'm told. My sternum was quite stiff for the first few days after the procedure, then it was fine.
I was glad to get them out, as I could feel every one of them.
Gail

 

[ALCapshaw2]

FWIW, the RING around my St. Jude Mechanical Valve shows up very nicely in my chest X-Rays. Hopefully it is a non-magnetic metal. Does anyone have the phone number for St. Jude to check out our valve characteristics?

'AL'

 

[ILoVeNY25]

Hey Scottie, I had my sternal wires out 4 months after my surgery. They become so uncomfortable to the point where it was painful. I weighed about 120 lbs going into OHS and I got down to about 105 when they removed the wires. I'm only 5'4". But yes I did stay in the hospital for the same amount of time that I did for the OHS. 6 days. They suggested to go in 1 day ahead, Start on Heparin drip and then it took 5 days to get the INR to the correct levels. I was released at 1.9. Good Luck with your proceure, please let us know how everything goes. Take Care!

 

[Georgia]

# for St. Jude

# for St. Jude

1-800-344-5833

According to their letter, federal law requires them to register you as a patient, and I think they also need to send you a card.

And my card says "MRI compatible"

 

[fcarter]

wires

wires

Hi there everyone
I'm just wondering about the wires that I have been reading about. I know about the the double by-pass and valve replacement I had, but nothing about the wires that everyone seems to be talking about. I'm not sure if I have them or not. I know that they removed a wire from by stomache the day of release from the hospital but that is it. Maybe I'm not asking the right questions with my doc. but I am getting a little nervous about this wire thing. Is it somthing that everyone gets and where exactly is it. I am thinking that it is placed around the sturnum. I hope that someone can answer this for me and that it is not a stupid question ..... but I really don't know about it.
Thanks ...... Faye

 

[JimL]

Faye, these are the wires used to hold the two pieces of sternum together so that it heals. They are also called staples. I can feel some of mine just under the skin, but they've never bothered me.

 

[hensylee]

Faye, if they split your sternum, you have wires. And they had to split it if you had bypass and valve replacement. Last time I was at cardio office, he told me that they are also using a tie that is like a bread tie............they just tie the bones back together in the center. Those wires in the abdomen that they remove the day you go home are in case they need to give your heart a jump start if there is a problem while you are in the hospital. Guess we all had that. I have two wee round scars where mine were.

 

[fcarter]

Thanks

Thanks

Thanks for the info. on the wires. I am going to see my card. tomorrow for a check-up and I will definitely ask about the wires. Do they all have to come out. I never Knew anything about them. I guess I'll have to think about a lot of questions before tomorrow. Has I stated this was very sudden for me and we didn't have time to ask a lot of questions I am still learning about different things that they did to me. My lungs still have fluid in them and now my shoulders and neck ache very much especially in the night. I think I feel worse now than I did before my surgery. Before I had no symptoms. Now I feel like I falling apart and now all these surprises with med. and now wires.
A friend of mind stated on one of my get well cards was You took a lickin but kept on tickin. That should be a moto for all of us because now more than ever I feel that the statement is true for all of us.
Take care and God bless
Faye

 

[hensylee]

Faye, most of us take our wires to heaven with us, so not to worry, but you sure ought to ask your surgeon to explain - or your cardio, so you are aware.

As for the shoulders, one of our members told us that when they open the sternum, our shoulders are bent way back so they can get more easily to the heart to work on it. I think that must be why most of us have pain and soreness in the shoulders. But, again, ask your cardio.

Write down every question you can think of, drag out your list when you get in to see him/her and make him/her answer each question. They usually schedule you for only 10 minutes, but don't leave til you get your answers. I actually prefer the dr's nurse assistant who answers everything, takes his time and makes me feel he is in no rush at all.

 

[Gail in Ca]

My surgeon during my 1st AVR in 89 knew I was thin and really took time to 'bury' my wires and I couldn't feel them.
When i had to have that porcine replaced my new surgeon had quite a time removing those buried wires , it took much extra time he wasn't expecting. They finally removed them and sewed me back together with the 'twisty tie type' that are just twisted and then bent over. Most people don't have a problem,just us thin people. I never knew they could be removed, but he said he could, no problem and I did it. MY cardio wasn't too happy about my decision, but I was very uncomfortable and could feel each one, like they were just below my thin skin. Now it is smooth, no more pain.
Gail