Specific pre-op questionsa

[Mb]

As some of you know, my husband Wayne is having his heart surgery on Thursday, October 4th at Mass General. The doctor plans to do a double valve replacement (AVR and MVR), and a dacron graft on his ascending aorta. He has been in chronic a-fib since at least early this year. He is also in CHF. He is 55.
Last night he began to have some specific questions, that I know are simple ones, but that you folks that have been through this will be able to answer. Here goes.

#1. Full body shave -They had said he could do this himself (????). So, details, please.

#2. - In the hospital, and afterwards, what is easier to take on and off? Shirt that buttons up the front, or a tee shirt?

#3. What pain meds are given? He has a very easily upset stomach (after any previous surgery he has had severe nasuea and vomiting).

My request is as follows. We will be going into Mass General at 6:00 AM Thursday October 4th. Although I know they will not be doing the surgery that early, and that prepping needs to be done, I would like to ask that for those of you that are among the faithful, that you include him in your prayers that day. ...and any day before or afterwards.

Please provide answers as soon as you can, as his anxiety level is pretty high, and he seems focused on the above questions as big concerns right now. (Actually maybe its best that he is concerned about that stuff instead of what he is facing.)

With many advance "thanks",
Marybeth

 

[Nancy]

Hi Marybeth-

Hi Marybeth-

Hi Marybeth=

I can't help you out with your specific questions, Joe didn't have to have a full body shave, nor even a partial shave, but he did have to wash with antiseptic soap the morning of surgery. He always wears tee-shirts or Polo style shirts and did so after surgery as well. I had to help him get it over his head and smooth the back of it down for him. I seem to remember some people swearing by old sweats as the outfit du Jour after getting home.

He'll be in hospital gowns for his whole stay, I'm quite sure, so you won't have to worry about that until going home.

As far as nausea goes, there are some comments from Sylvia about her husband's nausea, maybe she'll jump in and help on that issue. I think there are now some additional meds that conteract this problem. Pain control is very important to successful post-op and the hospital will be sure Wayne is without pain as much as possible.

Above all, I will be thinking about you both, and you have my prayers and best wishes for a fantastic surgical result and many years of good health for Wayne.

Like Joe's surgeon's nurse said, we've fixed everything above the belt.

 

[Mara]

Hi-
Hmm. full body shave...yep...you got is, they shave all your pubic hair, which for men means the chest too.
You are not supposed to shave 24 hours before the surgery if you do it at home, at least that's what my instructions said about shaving legs. I just let the hospital do it.

I think t-shirts are better, the buttons on a button-up shirt itched my incision. Get a big roomy t-shirt, and wash it a bunch of times so it is really soft. get several for home and pull on pants like elastic waist shorts, sweatpants, etc. It is hard to button pants with that incision for the first few weeks. Plus you want to sleep all the time, so being comfy is a priority, but you get sick of being in pj's all the time.

I had terrible nausea and vomiting from OxyContin in the hospital..ugh....just make sure he is not over medicated. I had better luck with Tylenol 4. Make sure the docs know what is going on. Ask the nurse for a shot to counter act the nausea. Popsicles are really good to have while nauseated in the hospital and at home. But, you have to make yourself eat, or they won't let you go home. Most cardiac units let the family bring in favorite foods... tapioc pudding, oatmeal, etc. That is good, then you are not stuck with the hospital food. A lobster roll from Legal's?

All in all , the surgery is not that bad. My Ross Procedure was long... I was on the by-pass pump 5 hours, Wayne's will be about that I expect. The worse part is trying to get comfortable with the incision. It is hard to sleep for a few weeks.

Tell Wayne not to worry, it will all be great, and then he'll feel fantastic in 8 weeks! The hardest part is the wait you'll have at the hospital, my husband and my mom were basket cases. But, they your family sees you and you are through the surgery and it's all good.

Prayers your way
-Mara

 

[sylviayasgur]

hi marybeth!
my husband, joey, just got home yesterday. he had a rp a week ago. they had put him on percoset ad his firtst pain med. and kept him on it for the first 2 days post op. he was very, very nauseous and wouldn't (couldn't ) stomach food. they gave him droperidol to combat the nausea, but he was allergic to it and it made him vomit violently. the percoset also made him very depressed and out of it.
the day they started giving him motrin and stopped the percoset, he was a different person! alert, getting a litlle hungry (joey is a huge eater for a thin man; all our friends joke about this, so lack of appetite is a sure sign that he's not himself) and just in better spirits altogether. about 4 days post op a nurse gave him a percoset again to help with pain, and he had a terrible reaction (hallucinating, paranoia, irritability,etc.) he was given tylenol with codeine to take home with him and that seems to be fine.
mara suggested ice pops for nausea... the best idea! that was what joey started with while he was still coming out of his nausea. then we moved onto soup and crackers, applesauce, jello, juices, and eventually deli sandwiches (roast beef to pick up his red blood cell count!). i would go to diners and delis in the neighborhood and friends and family would bring food, so he would not have to rely on hospital food.

as far as shaving goes, they gave joey some hair removal (nair-like ) cream to use the night before. it was not 100% successful in removing all the hair and irritated his nipples to no end! he ended up using his electric razor . he only had to do his chest though (not full body).

my joey, as with nancy's joe, lives in tee shirts and polo shirts. he wore primarily hospital gowns during his stay, becasue it was easier in terms of the wires, etc. also, the hospital had these drawstring pants, which he liked later in the week for walking around. by the last day, he wore a really, really soft tee shirt he loves. he had no wires or iv's by then.

i hope i've helped. the waiting IS the worst!! although joey does have some rocky times ahead, we're both glad the worst is over. and, yes, it is a long wait for family members and friends. although joey was taken in for surgery at 6 am, his surgery didn't begin until 8:15 and we were very worried that something was wrong because it was taking so long.
just be patient and positive. this is surgery that is done routinely and is being done to fix something that is fixable. how lucky we all are. i think of friends who have unfixable conditions/diseases, and i feel soooo fortunate.

let us know how it all goes.
we will be thinking of you. You are both in our prayers,
sylvia

 

[ticktock]

Marybeth
Well, lots of advice here, and its funny how everyone has their own favorite approach. Soft T shirts seem to have gotten the most votes. Being female, I bought a half dozen pairs of pajama's some of them looked like loungers. I always chose button ups, as I dont like raising my arms above my head after surgery. Once home, I liked wearing sweats.

Years ago, hospitals always practiced the "shave nipples to knees" approach. My last surgery was in 10/99 however, and I dont recall being shaved AT ALL. I did take three showers the night prior, with special soap. Washed my hair in it too. Also was supposed to do a mouthwash, but someone forgot, as did I.

I was given Morphone for pain for 10 days, then switched to Lortab. I did not have a nausea problem this time, though I did after my 3rd surgery while taking Darvocet. Yuck. Bad deal. I had a lot of complications, thus the morphine. My first three surgeries pretty much went without a hitch, and they have shots for the nausea if it starts. Tell your hubby THAT shot is wonderful!! Makes you feel very serene, and completely settles the tummy in minutes. Not to worry there.

Will keep you in prayer, as I do everyone here on the board, with special extra strength on surgery day.
Love in Christ
Mindy

 

[Mb]

Thank you to everyone here for their great advice! I'll be packing up the tee shirts this afternoon.

Late Friday afternoon, the Doctor's office called, and has moved the surgery up one day. So, we are now on the schedule for Wednesday morning. We are driving tonight to Boston, spending all day tomorrow with pre-op stuff, and then 6:00 AM he has to be back on Wednesday.

All prayers will be appreciated. Thank you for all the VERY good advice.

Marybeth

 

[hensylee]

I send along my best wishes and prayers for both of you for this journey. It is an awsome road you are traveling and when you are over it, you will understand exactly what we all have been saying all this time. Meantime, please let us know how he is whenever you have a moment as we will be waiting for you. God bless

 

[Nancy]

Hi Marybeth-

So glad for you both that it has been moved up a day. One less day for Wayne to feel miserable.

All good wishes and prayers are coming your way. We'll all be waiting along with you and will be looking forward to hearing how the surgery went.