Post Surgery turn out. Just want to compare procedures...

[PeteCrev]

Age 38 and Had surgery on January 13th and went Mechanical (St.Jude). Feeling great so far, just tired. Surgeon did the less invasive way with only a 3 inch incision in the center of my chest. Right now they have me on a BetaBlocker and Coumadin…..but hoping the Betablocker will stop shortly….not sure. Makes me tired and weird. The only issue with the Coumadin is it makes me very cold.
Any other patients have the same experience out there?

 

[AZ Don]

Are you sure it is the Coumadin that makes you cold? I was much more sensitive to cold the 1st month or so after my surgery and I was not on Coumadin. I was (and still am) on Metoprolol and it had little effect on me other than slowing my heart rate, though I've seen many reports from others about various side effects. Many people are quite anemic following OHS - I was. Possibly that could explain cold and tired symptoms.

Glad to hear you are feeling great. You will be feeling even better after another month.

 

[Paleowoman]

Hi Pete,

I felt very cold after surgery for several weeks, only just getting warmer. I became anaemic so maybe, like AZ says that could be a casue (plus the weather this time of year not helping) as I'm not on coumadin. I had the "less invasive way" - ha ! (sarcastic ha !) I've got a four inch incision and it's practically the full length of my sternum as my sternum is quite short. It's just as invasive as far as the heart is concerned. As far as I can tell it's just the length of the sternal cut which, being shorter, is supposed to help speed up healing - other than that there appears to be no difference. Maybe a little more awkward for the surgeon as there is less room to work in. My sternum is still very painful and it's now nearly seven weeks since I had surgery. I was able to halve the dose of the Betablocker I'm on from yesterday - I asked my cardiologist if I could do that as I felt my heart was too slow at night which I found disconcerting, and I was getting brief episodes of double vision which I thought might be connected. Have you asked your cardiologist or surgeon ?

 

[epstns]

Pete - I'm another who was frightfully cold for a month or so after surgery. I used to walk around the house fully dressed, wrapped in a blanket. At the time, I was taking both warfarin and metoprolol (beta blocker).

Fast forward almost 3 years. I'm still more susceptible to cold but I'm no longer taking warfarin. My metoprolol dosage is now 1/4 of what it was immediately post-op, and I don't feel cold as often.

I, too, was told that anemia is common after heart surgery, and that it contributes to the feeling of cold. Mine subsided after 4 or 5 weeks.

 

[big_L]

I was hotter than he** for about 3 days after surgery, then cold for a month maybe. It'll get better. It's likely a surgical artifact and not the meds. You'll likely be on the beta blocker for a while. It has good history for improving survivability after OHS.

 

[PeteCrev]

Thank you all. It's getting easier every day. Feeling much better, just tired towards the end of the day. Does anyone know the recovery time for the mini-thoracotomy? Can't seem to find it online anywhere. I did ask the surgeon but they are so brief.

 

[marc_kowal]

I was also cold for a few weeks after surgery, but then one day I woke up and it was like a switch was flipped and I wasn't cold anymore. Believe me, that was a happy day for me!!

 

[epstns]

Pete - My surgeon told me that the recovery time for the mini-thoracotomy was about the same as for the "full monty." He said that the variability between patients was larger than the difference between the two procedures.

My own opinion was that you might become more comfortable sooner after the mini, but not by a large margin. After all, they are still cutting a lot of stuff to get in there and do their job.

 

[PeteCrev]

Thanks Steve. I couldnt find that much online about the recovery. Just cant wait to be off these beta blockers....which i think are making me tired. How long do you think until I feel back to normal again without any restrictions?

 

[scott.eitman]

I have had both types of surgeries: 1st minimally invasive (4") and then 8" for the redo. !st was a homograft (no coumadin) and 2nd mechanical (coumadin).

For both, I had night chills for 6 - 8 weeks after both surgeries.

I believe the recovery of the sternum was slightly quicker from the 1st, but they were 12 years apart and it could just be a age difference. It could just be grass is always greener.

As for recovery, we are all different. For me, It was at about 8 weeks for back to normal. For me, that meant no more afternoon naps. Back to normal without restrictions is up to your doctor. I was there at 6 weeks, but more like 8-9 before I was outside and on a bicycle again.

 

[AdrockTN]

Hi Pete, I'm 10 weeks post-op with an St. Judes AVR ... I just started feeling less tired this week ... I've started back to work & am getting in a routine (i.e. going to bed earlier, not taking naps, etc.).

This past week, I started drinking a protein shake everyday ... not saying that's the reason for my being less tired, but maybe give that a shot.

 

[Mentu]

Hi, Pete, it is certainly normal to feel exhausted after a valve replacement. I found that walking as much as I could helped and then cardiac rehab helped rebuild my energy reserves. As well, the metoprolol that I took for the first five months sapped my energy level. Within two weeks after my cardiologist agreed that I could stop taking it, I felt much better. You might talk with your doctor about reducing the dosage or using a different drug. Still, you are in the early stages of recovery and you will continue improving for months and months.

Larry

 

[Paleowoman]

I'm eight weeks post op today and I must say that I am having much more energy than I even had two weeks ago. I also started cardiac rehab last week and doing some 'proper' exercise, in addition to walking, has made me feel stronger.

 

[PeteCrev]

Thank you all for your responses. It made me feel a little at ease since I’m not the only one that’s tired. I am feeling better and better every week. The evening is my major problem. I’ve always been a restless sleeper and now with this I toss and turn all night and irritate my insides it feels like. Just can’t get comfortable.
Other than walking….pretty cold here in NJ….i have an elliptical I’d like to use but don’t know when I should or if I should??? Thoughts???

 

[Paleowoman]

I found this interesting paper comparing "minimally invasive" sternotomy with full sternotomy in terms of operation times and recovery: http://www.sid.ir/en/VEWSSID/J_pdf/86820040402.pdf It's interesting that the operating times and times on heart lung machine were longer with the mini than the full, due to the smaller access I presume making it harder ? (My total operation time was 2 hours with 45 minutes of that on the heart lung machine - maybe they did a cross between full and mini with me as my incision is nearly the full length of my sternum despite being told I had a mini sternotomy) Hospital stays with the mini were a bit shorter than the full.

But I see Pete had a mini throactomy which is different as it's between the ribs - is that right Pete ?

 

[PeteCrev]

I found this interesting paper comparing "minimally invasive" sternotomy with full sternotomy in terms of operation times and recovery: http://www.sid.ir/en/VEWSSID/J_pdf/86820040402.pdf It's interesting that the operating times and times on heart lung machine were longer with the mini than the full, due to the smaller access I presume making it harder ? (My total operation time was 2 hours with 45 minutes of that on the heart lung machine - maybe they did a cross between full and mini with me as my incision is nearly the full length of my sternum despite being told I had a mini sternotomy) Hospital stays with the mini were a bit shorter than the full.

But I see Pete had a mini throactomy which is different as it's between the ribs - is that right Pete ?

Great article! Thank you! Yes I had the mini thoracotomy, but mine was not a reverse L shape. I is toward the right side of my chest that is horizontal and 2 ½ inches long.

 

[clay_from_nj]

Thank you all for your responses. It made me feel a little at ease since I’m not the only one that’s tired. I am feeling better and better every week. The evening is my major problem. I’ve always been a restless sleeper and now with this I toss and turn all night and irritate my insides it feels like. Just can’t get comfortable.
Other than walking….pretty cold here in NJ….i have an elliptical I’d like to use but don’t know when I should or if I should??? Thoughts???

I had to spend some nights on our sofa/chaise when I first got home from the surgery. It seemed that being somewhat upright was just the thing I needed. You might have to experiment with different sleep positions. At the very least, by the time you've tried them all, you'll probably have healed enough that it's not bothering you so much any more. I got out of NJ a few years ago, just when the winters started getting bad. We've had -20 here in Colorado, but it'll be warmed right back up the next day, often a difference of 40+ degrees. The elliptical, I think, works your chest somewhat, so you might want to hold off three months post-op or so? whatever the doctor says. Maybe you can do it "no-hands" or just let your legs do all the work. I wouldn't think there'd be any problem with that.

 

[PeteCrev]

8 weeks post op.....Does anyone know when the shortness of breath stops? Very much so in the cold weather.

 

[AdrockTN]

8 weeks post op.....Does anyone know when the shortness of breath stops? Very much so in the cold weather.

I'll be 11 weeks post-op tomorrow ... I haven't really noticed a shortness of breath in myself lately ... as a matter of fact, I'd forgotten about having them until I read your post ...

being 8 weeks post-op, I feel you're on the cusp of many "breakthroughs" ... remember, it's the little victories that add up ...