colsha
Member
Hi All
It appears that all my previous posts, etc were lost due to the website changes in late February. Anyway to those who passed on good wishes and thoughts and prayers, thanks!
It wasn't quite smooth sailing.
Apparently the actual operation went OK - although on bypass for over 5.5 hours. St Judes 25mm valve implanted and dacron graft used to replace the aorta including part of the "arch".
I also didn't wake properly and suffered some level of "Delerium" (where, although not totally unconscious, you aren't in control of much at all). Due to my flailing arms and head, it was decided to further sedate me for a while.
After a week of not improving a lot, it was decided to give me a tracheostomy (performed by the surgical team in the operating theatre (not in the Cardiac Intensive Care Unit (CICU)).
Although I consider tubes stuck down your throat, etc to be one of the major forms of modern torture for the conscious patient, this procedure did help me greatly and I improved markedly from then on.
Consiousness returned slowly - although my recollections of the world were tinted/tainted/coloured by the quite strong drugs I was on.
I also had some (mild?) form of pneumonia, centred on one of the lung's lobes and was on stong intravenous antibiotics for that.
Due to the trach, and my lung infection, I was also coughing LOTS. I developed chemosis (bloodshot eyes) - (check out chemosis in google images to see what I looked like - or remember the final scenes with Arnie Schwarzenegger in Total Recall). The only upside of this was that I got rid of all the anesthetic in my lungs, so the "huffing exercises" weren't really required.
Anyway, the tracheostomy was performed on Monday and I had improved so well afterwards that I had the trach removed on Friday. On Saturday I was considered well enough to transfer out of the CICU into the Cardiac Ward.
Here I continued to improve - with the exception of the first night where I suffered from Atrial Fibrillation with my heartbeat sitting between 120 and 167 for several hours. I didn't feel bad, just remembered that I'd had this happen following my original (1999) surgery. However, I was placed on a drip and monitored closely for about 20 hours, until it settled down again. No problems with rapid heartbeat since then.
As a matter of fact, since the operation, my heartbeat now sits between 60 and 75 and my Blood Pressure has been about 110/60 - quite amazing!
I still have another aneurysm to be monitored which is at the base of the 1999 dacron graft repair to my coarctation. I've got an appointment to see a Vascular Surgeon on the 19th April, so I'll see what and when he wishes to repair this final aneurysm - hopefully with a stent.
Anyway, I'm at the ex-wife (she’s been fantastic) and daughter's place, recovering slowly. Some days are great and some are a little slow. I can manage to walk a couple of kilometres in one go, so I'm slowly getting my energy back.
I have no real chest pain (except for coughing and sneezing), but do have some neck and shoulder pain which is also slowly diminishing.
My only other complaint is that my fourth and little fingers on my right hand (I'm right handed too) are numb/tingly. The doc said the nerve had probably been damaged and will need to regrow (at the rate of 1 mm per day). Just frustrating rather than painful.
Anyway, I survived. Even the surgeon suggested I had "done a Lazarus" and "had them all really worried." Getting used to the "thumping" from the valve is taking some time and seems to wake me once or twice during the night.
I'll update when I've some more news. Sorry if this depresses or worries people with upcoming surgery, but it's probably worthwhile knowing that this is MAJOR surgery and things can and do go awry!
Cheers to all!
Col
It appears that all my previous posts, etc were lost due to the website changes in late February. Anyway to those who passed on good wishes and thoughts and prayers, thanks!
It wasn't quite smooth sailing.
Apparently the actual operation went OK - although on bypass for over 5.5 hours. St Judes 25mm valve implanted and dacron graft used to replace the aorta including part of the "arch".
I also didn't wake properly and suffered some level of "Delerium" (where, although not totally unconscious, you aren't in control of much at all). Due to my flailing arms and head, it was decided to further sedate me for a while.
After a week of not improving a lot, it was decided to give me a tracheostomy (performed by the surgical team in the operating theatre (not in the Cardiac Intensive Care Unit (CICU)).
Although I consider tubes stuck down your throat, etc to be one of the major forms of modern torture for the conscious patient, this procedure did help me greatly and I improved markedly from then on.
Consiousness returned slowly - although my recollections of the world were tinted/tainted/coloured by the quite strong drugs I was on.
I also had some (mild?) form of pneumonia, centred on one of the lung's lobes and was on stong intravenous antibiotics for that.
Due to the trach, and my lung infection, I was also coughing LOTS. I developed chemosis (bloodshot eyes) - (check out chemosis in google images to see what I looked like - or remember the final scenes with Arnie Schwarzenegger in Total Recall). The only upside of this was that I got rid of all the anesthetic in my lungs, so the "huffing exercises" weren't really required.
Anyway, the tracheostomy was performed on Monday and I had improved so well afterwards that I had the trach removed on Friday. On Saturday I was considered well enough to transfer out of the CICU into the Cardiac Ward.
Here I continued to improve - with the exception of the first night where I suffered from Atrial Fibrillation with my heartbeat sitting between 120 and 167 for several hours. I didn't feel bad, just remembered that I'd had this happen following my original (1999) surgery. However, I was placed on a drip and monitored closely for about 20 hours, until it settled down again. No problems with rapid heartbeat since then.
As a matter of fact, since the operation, my heartbeat now sits between 60 and 75 and my Blood Pressure has been about 110/60 - quite amazing!
I still have another aneurysm to be monitored which is at the base of the 1999 dacron graft repair to my coarctation. I've got an appointment to see a Vascular Surgeon on the 19th April, so I'll see what and when he wishes to repair this final aneurysm - hopefully with a stent.
Anyway, I'm at the ex-wife (she’s been fantastic) and daughter's place, recovering slowly. Some days are great and some are a little slow. I can manage to walk a couple of kilometres in one go, so I'm slowly getting my energy back.
I have no real chest pain (except for coughing and sneezing), but do have some neck and shoulder pain which is also slowly diminishing.
My only other complaint is that my fourth and little fingers on my right hand (I'm right handed too) are numb/tingly. The doc said the nerve had probably been damaged and will need to regrow (at the rate of 1 mm per day). Just frustrating rather than painful.
Anyway, I survived. Even the surgeon suggested I had "done a Lazarus" and "had them all really worried." Getting used to the "thumping" from the valve is taking some time and seems to wake me once or twice during the night.
I'll update when I've some more news. Sorry if this depresses or worries people with upcoming surgery, but it's probably worthwhile knowing that this is MAJOR surgery and things can and do go awry!
Cheers to all!
Col
