Minimally Invasive Surgery

[shellyb]

The idea of a lot smaller incision sounds wonderful to both my husband and I. From others who have had their valve replaced by minimally invasive surgery what was your experience like? When were you able to begin driving and go back to work? What was your recovery like?

Thanks!

Shelly in SD

 

[Phyllis]

Dick had minimally invasive surgery- 3- 4" sternum scar. The recovery is about the same, (4-5) days in the hospital, no driving for 6 weeks, but he never had any sternum pain. I think recovery in general is different for everyone. If he is in good condition to begin with, it will go better. Dick was riding a bike at 8 weeks, playing tennis and golf at 12 weeks.

 

[MaryC]

I had minimally invasive port access mitral valve repair 02/21. I had no real pain - maybe discomfort but very manageable. I was released from the hospital the 5th day morning. I was driving in 2 weeks. The only hold up to driving was being off of pain medication. I have a scar a little over 3 inches under my right breast.

 

[jds]

Minimally invasive may change to a complete sternotomy

Minimally invasive may change to a complete sternotomy

Hello -

I had an MV replacement late May 2007. The plan was minimally invasive, repair if possible.

Whe the surgeon saw my MV, it was a mess - all chewed up with endocarditis. So he opened the rest of the sternum to get better access and did a replacement with a bovine valve. We had discussed replacements before the surgery in case repair was not possible.

I had relatively little sternum pain after surgery - more back pain than sternum pain. I was in hospital for 8 days but that was because to drain a lot of fluid from my chest - not because of the sternotomy.

John

 

[readsforfun]

I had minimally invasive surgery to replace aortic valve due to stenosis in March, 2007. I was in the hospital 5 days and went back to driving and part-time work in 2-3 weeks. I have approx. a 3" scar over right breast and a couple of small "poke" holes which I assume were for instruments. Truthfully, had very little, if any, pain associated with the surgery. Some fairly bad back aches the first few days due, I believe, to the operating room table which is hard and narrow and you're on it for several hours in the same position. Truthfully, for me the anticipation was far worse than the actual experience. Hope this helps. If I can answer any other questions for you, please feel free to PM me at any time!!

Good luck to you!!!
Jan

 

[shellyb]

These posts are reassuring. We're hoping my husband can go with minimally invasive but realize that we'll have to get through what we have to get through. We're both anxious to meet with the surgeon at Cleveland Clinic and see what they have to say.

Shellyb

 

[jds]

Poke Holes and Back Pain

Poke Holes and Back Pain

I have three "poke holes" as they were described. Two are under my sternum. They were for pacing wires. Those wires touched my heart and could be hooked to an external pacemaker if my heart rhythm had gone crazy after surgery. They pulled out the wires when I left the ICU in a day or two. The third hole is on my right side near the bottom of my rib cage. It is my drain plug. I had a significant pleural effusion (buildup of fluid in my chest in the pleural sack but outside the lung). the hole contained a tube to drain it - drained quite a lot in the 6-7 days it was in. They pulled out the tube the day before discharge from the hospital.

Talking to my surgeon about back pain, he said it is mostly from the fact that they spread open your rib cage significantly after cutting open the sternum - either partially or fully. This over-stresses the attachments of the ribs to the spinal column in the back and irritates the tendons and ligaments. Some people like to get massages to relieve this pain but it usually goes away - for me in about 2-3 weeks.

John