Post surgery July 20, 4 procedures done at once.

[Maggie]

On July 20 I had surgery done with Dr. Duke Cameron at Johns Hopkins in Baltimore Maryland. I had an aortic valve replacement with a cow valve, I had 3 inches of my aorta removed and replaced with a composite aorta due to an aneurysm, I had a modified maze procedure, and I also had the nodule removed that they think 90% of the clotting happens in, this will allow me to stop taking blood thinners because I also suffer from a-fib. It was a lot of surgery and I spent eight nights in the hospital. At my follow-up 3 1/2 weeks later they found a large amount of fluid surrounding my left lung from surgery site seeping, I was having a heck of a time breathing and could hardly walk to the bathroom without freely like I was suffocating. After a chest x-ray on my follow up visit to Dr. Cameron found the fluid, the next day I was lined up for a thoracentesis, and they removed one and a half liters of fluid from around my lung. Just a heads up, if you are having extreme difficulty breathing after your surgery, have your surgeon check you with a chest x-ray and CT scan for fluid surrounding your lungs, my recovery was greatly decreased because of the fluid. Once the fluid was removed my recovery has made a huge improvement.

 

[70sdiver]

welcome. sounds like your back on track to recovery.

 

[Beach77]

I also had a thoracentesis after my On-x valve in 2020. It was the first big wave of COVID and I could only walk (leave my room) one time a day in the hospital. Another exam was scheduled 2 days after I went home to see if anything changed. Nope, so I had the thoracentesis and it was amazing how far I could walk after it!

 

[Chuck C]

Thanks for the update Maggie.

they removed one and a half liters of fluid from around my lung.

That's a lot of fluid. Good that things worked out removing it and that you are now recovering much better.

 

[Eva]

Glad all is going well now and wish you healthy recovery and bump-free

 

[dwhist]

I had mechanical valve put in in 2011. At 12 weeks I had the shortness of breath and saw doc. He felt everything was ok and sent me home. I went for a 10 mile bike ride and was out of breath. Docs office called me a few days later and asked I go to hospital right away for CT scan as he had second thoughts. They kept me while they got the report and ended up taking me up to surgery and taking a liter of fluid out from around the heart. I believe it as called pericardial effusion. So any shortness of breath should be followed up with doc.

 

[Chuck C]

Thanks for sharing your story @dwhist.

At 12 weeks I had the shortness of breath and saw doc. He felt everything was ok and sent me home

For valve patients, whether we are pre-surgery or post surgery, symptoms such as shortness of breath, chest pains, or fainting and/or dizziness, should never be taken lightly. It seems that often patients don't like to believe that it is their valve and dismiss it as something else. Clearly, you did not dismiss it, but we do get people hoping that it is just anxiety or stress. And, unfortunately, sometimes doctors send valve patients home without proper imagagery, such as an echo, to investigate if there is something going on with the valve. At the minimum, I would encourage valve patients who show symptoms, whether they still have their native valve or have a prosthetic, to push for an echo or a CT scan and not take "no" for an answer. If you doctor will not do one, find one who will. There is too much at stake to dismiss symptoms.

Docs office called me a few days later and asked I go to hospital right away for CT scan as he had second thoughts.

Shame on him for being dismissive about it initially, but glad that he reconsidered and had you come in.

They kept me while they got the report and ended up taking me up to surgery and taking a liter of fluid out from around the heart. I believe it as called pericardial effusion.

Glad that the CT scan discovered this and the fluid was removed. Thank you for making others aware of this possibility of fluild around the heart.

So any shortness of breath should be followed up with doc.

I totally agree, but would add that also chest pains and fainting/dizziness should also be followed up immediately, and push for an echo or CT scan.