Questions about AVR Surgery!

[Tiger]

I know I will be getting this done soon (probably within the next year or so). And I am starting to get nervous! I know I'll be better off afterwards but still, just thought of OHS and I've never been put to sleep what if I don't wake up? And most importantly being away from my baby girl and not being able to hold her/pick her up afterwards for awhile. a few questions for those of you that have had this done!

1. From the time your cardiologist said you needed to get the surgery done and when you actually got it done...how long did that process take?
2. How long were you in the hospital afterwards for?
3. Were you in a lot of pain after?
4. Were there any complications with your surgery or any complications after?
5. What were the weight restrictions you had afterward? I'm worried about not being able to pick up/carry my daughter around...I know I will eventually be able to but I hope it won't be too long that I will have to wait :/
6. How long was your recovery? How soon after were you able to get back to exercising and a normal life with no restrictions?
7. Did you have OHS or is there other ways they can replace the valve? I just need my valve replaced (now at least) bc there is no aneurysm yet..I know I had read online they can go in from the side or something.?
Thank you!

 

[Heart Of The Sunrise]

1.) 3.5 months. 2.) 9 days. 3.) No 4.)I developed an ileus- difficulty peeing or pooping....otherwise I would have been out of the hospital Friday...surgery having been on Monday.
5.) no more than 10 pounds for around 6 weeks...25 pounds up to 12 weeks...then unrestricted. No driving for 4 weeks. avoid airbags...ride in back seat for 4 weeks.
6.) Back to work after 10 weeks. 7.) Standard OHS...8 inch incision.. surgery included Deep Hypothermic Cardiac Arrest and Retrograde Cerebral Perfusion...Google these two items...amazing process!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d5jGG4sH2Cc

 

[T in YVR]

There is tons of info on vr.org (and on great sites like the Cleveland Clinic and Mayo clinic etc.) that answer all of your questions. I would suggest you do alot of reading on this - that is what I did. Some of the answers are dependent on your specific circumstances (age, severity of your condition, state of your health other than your AVR, etc.) E.g. - some people wait years to have AVR from first diagnosis; others get in right away...it depends on your condition when it is discovered etc.
Tony

 

[AZ Don]

Although I did not have my aortic valve replaced, I had an aortic root repair, which is right next to the valve and was OHS.

1) 6 weeks
2) 5 days total
3) No, but some movements were painful
4) I had Atrial Fibrillation (AFib) a couple times after. One required a trip to the ER, one resolved on it's own.
5) No driving for 3.5 weeks, lift no more than 10lbs for 8 weeks
6) 1st 4 weeks I was told to focus on rest though I also walked about 1/2 mile twice/day from the day I got home. After 4 weeks I was told I could start increasing, so added stationary bicycling, walking farther or up hill, even a little stairmaster, but always w/ heart rate < 120. I was able to get around pretty good during this time. At 8 weeks restrictions were lifted and I was able to start swimming, light weight lifting, and to increase activity as I am able to. I go back to work on Monday, which is just under 10 weeks.
7) I had OHS, I was told there was no other option for me.

AVR is generally done as OHS but it is sometimes done in a less invasive manner. In some cases this is due to the patient not being a candidate for OHS due to advanced age/poor health. I believe the Cleveland Clinic routinely does a less invasive AVR in any patients that don't require OHS for some other reason (eg. aneurysm repair). Whatever type of surgery you have and wherever you have it, you want to be sure it is something your Dr. has done a number of times. Surgery and anesthesia always carry some risk, but you mention a baby girl so I assume you are young and that is a huge advantage going into surgery. My Dr's say most of their other patients are much older (and I am over 50).

 

[Tiger]

Thanks for the responses...I am 27 years old and my doctor says I will recover quickly but I just cannot imagine not being able to pick up/carry my daughter for 6-8 weeks! She is about 13 pounds now so by the time I have my surgery she will be pretty big! darn this will be hard!

 

[Agian]

You may not be able to lift her for a few weeks, but you can still put your arms around her and hold her.

 

[dick0236]

.......... darn this will be hard!

Corrective surgery may inconvenience you for a few weeks.......but it will help assure that you will see your daughter grow up, get educated, get married.....and have grandkids you can spoil. I know this is a b--ch to go thru at a young age....been there, done that, but it has been well worth the small hassles along the way.

 

[AZ Don]

Thanks for the responses...I am 27 years old and my doctor says I will recover quickly but I just cannot imagine not being able to pick up/carry my daughter for 6-8 weeks! She is about 13 pounds now so by the time I have my surgery she will be pretty big! darn this will be hard!

This is something you could discuss with your surgeon. Perhaps your doctor will allow this sooner. I read once that a door to a certain Doctors office required > 10 pounds of pressure to open, and none of the OHS patients had a problem with it. In any case, like Agian said you can still put your arms around her. My sister had issues after her twins were born and couldn't pick up her babies for a time. She used to lie with them on a bed.

 

[Kimv]

I am almost 2 weeks post - op and have a 24lb 10 month old. Not being able to pick him up and knowing that I still have another 4 weeks at least until I can, has hands down been the hardest part of this whole process. He is a crawler so I literally can't be alone with him which took a lot of preparation to make schedules and help from friends and family. I can't answer some of your long term questions but I can tell you that I went in for surgery on a Monday - home on Friday. Knock on wood no complications right now. For me the most painful is just the stiffness in your arms, back and neck but that has gone away and the actual chest pain is nothing a tylonal can't handle. It is just hard to be an observer in your house but if you think about the silver lining - no changing diapers for over a month. That is something!

 

[VegasBAV]

1. 7 months
2. 5 nights
3. Not really
4. No
5. I don't remember the lifting restrictions. I didn't drive for 10 days post op.
6. I was basically back to normal in four weeks except for lifting restrictions and couldn't sleep on my stomach/side for a few more weeks.

 

[Leah]

Hi Tiger!

I had my surgery on March 6th of this year. My boys were 1 and 2 years old at the time. I was able to pick my 30 pound 1 year old up at about 10 weeks. I was in the hospital for 6 days. I had to go back in the hospital for a-fib 2 weeks later. I have not had another episode since. I also had some swelling and shortness of breath for about a month after surgery, but I am doing great now. I would say I started to feel like my old self at about 10 weeks. Now I feel better than my old self. I have a lot more energy & I am able to keep up with my boys. I agree with Kimv, my pain was mostly in my shoulders, neck and back. That lasted for about a month. Good luck, you can do this!!

Leah

 

[Agian]

It is just hard to be an observer in your house but if you think about the silver lining - no changing diapers for over a month. That is something!

Why are you exempting her from nappy duty for over a month?

 

[Kimv]

Why are you exempting her from nappy duty for over a month?

I guess it depends on the age and ease of the child. My son is at an age where you have to catch him to change his diaper and then it is more like hand to hand combat to get him to keep still. Getting kicked in the chest is not part of the recovery plan so I am taking some time off diaper duty! But every child is different - it is really about what you feel comfortable doing with and for the little ones. Regardless, i would happily exempt all moms and dads from changing diapers after OHS

 

[Kitty]

Hi,

I was in the hospital 7 days, surgery happened fairly quickly. No where near as much pain as I thought. After the first few days I was managing with just panadol. No complications except for an elevated heart rate and fluid retention ( I think that's normal though). My biggest fear was that I would be aware of hbeing on the ventilator afterwards but I really don't remember much if the first 2 days afterwards, my partner tells me I was pretty high on pain killers.

No lifting for 6 weeks. My daughter was 1 at the time so I had lots of support from family and friends as I couldn't be left alone with her. I would just sit on the floor with her and play or cuddle. I got sick of constantly having people around but she loved it.

No driving for 6 weeks (in Australia that's general after any major surgery)
I was back at work after 8 weeks, I was told I could have gone at 6 weeks if I had an office job, but I manage a restaurant so it involves a bit of lifting. And I was back exercising (with a few lifting restrictions) at 8 weeks too.

I could feel the difference in how I felt immediately. And although it wasn't the most pleasant experience I'm so glad I did it

 

[Agian]

Kitty, what type of valve did you get?

 

[clay_from_nj]

1. Knew for sure for the past three years or so, just saving up time off so that it wouldn't affect my job. 2. In hospital a couple of days after surgery. 3. Absolutely no pain, except for coughing or sneezing in the first few days - hang onto that pillow they give you! 4. No complications whatsoever, easier than average, especially for a redo sternotomy. 5. The restrictions I really remember were no driving until six weeks, and the contortions I had to do to get into and out of bed for the first couple of weeks. I definitely couldn't carry my baby girl around. (She's 10 years old and almost 90 pounds!) 6. Six weeks after surgery, no restrictions whatsoever. 7. Full-blown OHS. It's really not as bad as you might think, and most of it takes place while you're unconscious. I had a couple of molars extracted before my AVR and I think the heart surgery was easier to deal with.

 

[knotguilty]

1) About 4 weeks 2) Came home on my 5th morning 3) None 4) None 5) 5 pounds. I am @ 9 months post and am benching 190 lbs. 6) 12 weeks. DO THE REHAB!! 7) Mini invasive, had no other issues but the BAV. Went in about 4 inches above my right nipple.

It is ok to be nervous. I felt better knowing I had everything ready in case the worst happened and was a piece with my God. Just know they do these so routine just like taking out an appendix. You really have nothing to worry about.

 

[TheGymGuy]

Hey Tiger,
Keep it together, its scary to wait, but you will be fine. We will support you through your journey.

1. 3 months from the go see a surgeon and get a consult.
2. 4 days including the surgery day. So, 3 days after surgery.
3. Very much manageable, and I am a sissy for pain, so it was totally doable. It's not like I'd do it again, but if you read on here, you will see that its manageable.
4. Got lucky, very lucky. Stars and prayers and everything aligned. Nothing that you would not expect.
5. I picked up my 1yr old daughter on her 1st birthday. This was 8 weeks post op. Actually, I could lift lots of things, see my "training to stay healthy" thread in my signature.
6. 2-4 weeks. See thread I referenced above.
7. If you are young, the sternotomy or partial sternotomy is a good way to get things done. Whatever your surgeon is comfortable doing, is what you should probably go with. Trust your surgical team and they will get you through it just fine.

Hope this helps,
GymGuy

 

[Gail in Ca]

1.1st ohs- 6 weeks,aorta fell apart in surgeons hand, 2nd ohs-6 mos, 3rd ohs after endocarditis treatment- 5 weeks
2. '89-1 week, '00-4 days,'09- 6 days (asked for 1 extra day)
3. Sure the sternum hurts, but I'd say it was never excruciating
4. 3rd ohs- lung collapse, but okay when I left hospital. 5. no more than 5 lbs for 6 weeks, can't raise arms above head, either.
6. 6 wks-driving, 8wks?- light weights, squats, more as you get stronger
7.Had full sternotomy each time, just wasn't a candidate for anything else. Long scar from 3 surgeries, 9 chest tube scars. Your surgeon can tell you if you are a candidate for other types of surgery replacement

 

[Harley2000]

I had the minimally invasive surgery where they cut between the ribs in your upper chest. Mine is about 6 inches long.

The Doctor said that he would do this as long as there wasn't other issues to work on such as bypass surgery, etc. He said that even tho it will still be open heart surgery when they get in there, the recovery after the hospital stay would be a lot faster and easier. Because it is still open heart surgery the hospital stay is about the same either way. Because the incision is between the ribs, that is a lot easier to heal from than having your breast bone split apart and wired back together.

If this type of minimally invasive surgery is possible (no other issues other than valve repair or replacement) and the doctor is skilled in the procedure, I highly recommend it. I feel that my Doctor wanted the best for me by doing the minimally invasive route even tho it made it a smaller "hole" for him to work through.

I didn't have any issues other than the usual ones associated with valve replacement and being hooked up to the heart-lung machines.

I wasn't aware that this type of surgery was available till the surgeon said that he always did it when possible. I would wonder why it is done more often when conditions allow it.

Mike