Sternum Wires

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Italialu

Hi everyone,

It's nice to be on a website that caters to our particular issues. I am 43 years old and had my mitral valve replacement and hole in my heart repaired in November of 2007 at NY Presbyterian. Has anyone had issues with the wires bothering them? My cardiologist told me that it was not a good option to take out the wires but every time I drive, my seat belt bothers me and since I am thin, I can see and feel two prominent bumps alongside the scar. I guess it may be more mental than anything else but whenever I wash in that area, it bothers me to go over those bumps for fear that I may hurt that area or perhaps have them come out through the skin which I was told could be a possibility. Every time I exercise, it bothers me but not enough to warrant me to have any surgery to remove it. Any ideas or suggestions? Thanks and have a wonderful weekend.

Luciana from NY
 
Hi, and welcome, Luciana!:)

My wires have caused me no problems, but I've read posts from other members who have suffered ongoing discomfort with them. If you type in "sternum wires" in the Search feature at the top, it will bring up threads and posts that you can review. You'll find one about a member, BryanB, who underwent surgery to have his wires removed.
 
Welcome to the zoo:D ... The only thing I know is that some people have problems and some have the wires removed ... I do not know why your cardio said it was not a good option ... if it is this bothersome call and consult with your surgeon ... again welcome:)
 
I know of a few people that had problems with them and had them removed. I don't understand why your doctor is balking at it.
 
Welcome to VR.com. Glad you found us. I haven't had problems with the wires, but my scar is still tender when I wear my seatbelt with just a t-shirt on.
 
This is the first I'd heard of trouble with the wires. I never noticed them in the 14 years since my CABG, and they put brand new ones in this time (twisty ties they look like on the xray). I hope this doesn't lead to my imagining them now--or having sympathy twinges for those who do have trouble. This time, so far, so good (2 weeks post op).
 
Italialu said:
Hi everyone,

It's nice to be on a website that caters to our particular issues. I am 43 years old and had my mitral valve replacement and hole in my heart repaired in November of 2007 at NY Presbyterian. Has anyone had issues with the wires bothering them? My cardiologist told me that it was not a good option to take out the wires but every time I drive, my seat belt bothers me and since I am thin, I can see and feel two prominent bumps alongside the scar. I guess it may be more mental than anything else but whenever I wash in that area, it bothers me to go over those bumps for fear that I may hurt that area or perhaps have them come out through the skin which I was told could be a possibility. Every time I exercise, it bothers me but not enough to warrant me to have any surgery to remove it. Any ideas or suggestions? Thanks and have a wonderful weekend.

Luciana from NY
Click to expand...

Luciana, you are my TWIN.....I feel bad for you, but I'm reassured that I am not the only one with this issue.
I got my surgery report and have 7 wires.
My thoughts were that I could put more "meat" on my bones and maybe not notice the wires so much. No luck, still thin.
If anything touches the 2 protruding wires, I almost want to barf. It's a weird feeling still after 3 years.
My seatbelt has a clothes peg on it, so that it won't retract or pull tight on me.
P.S. welcome to the group.:)
 
Ciao Luciana. I keep myself thin purposely, although if the weight would go up instead of down, I wouldn't mind a few pounds. So, I can see and feel all the little bumps along my sternum. It doesn't really bother me though. I guess it depends on how much it bothers you whether you want to go to the trouble of getting the wires removed.

In bocca al lupo!:)
 
Luciana - I had my wires removed and have had no problems. Once the sternum is healed, they are just decoration. Mine were bothering me when I moved certain ways, when I wore a seat belt, when a child sat in my lap and leaned their head back (my children were 5 & 7 when I had my surgery), and were causing bruising from underneath my skin. My surgeon said that as the sternum and muscles heal, some people's wires turn. My second from the top was the one that was really bothering me, although the xray showed that one farther down was also turned. When they removed that one, I can feel a hole or indention in my sternum, but it doesn't bother me, and the doctor said I still have plenty of bone there to hold it together.

Anyway, I don't think your cardiologist knows what he is talking about. Talk to your surgeon.
 
Four years after my first surgery, I was still sore particularly with a change of weather, snow or rain. My cardio said we could talk about having them removed but I hesitated to subject myself to another surgery. Then I got the news I would require a second OHS so had a very earnest talk with my surgeon about how sore I had been since the first. (He was the surgeon who did my first surgery.) He took careful note of what I said and I don't know exactly what he did differently but I am so much more comfortable this time. I still get a bit of soreness (14 months post op) but it is considerably better. I can actually lay on my stomach where I could not since the first surgery.
 
Luciana i had great problems for 16 years 1st surgery,like someone
mentioned weather was a factor for me and i suffered all the time.
i was too big a risk to redo but since 2nd surgery jan 22,wires redone
oh man it feels so great. any movement in the past would remind me
how painful,i brought this up to my doc everytime,but was too risky
and was a painful 16 years for me.I also mentioned it to my 2nd surgeon
before 2nd surgery and he done a wonderful job.No complaints this time
with wiring.Hope you can resolve this and not wait as long as i had to.

zipper2 (DEB)
 
Dyna said:
I can't feel any of my wires, I do know there are 3 of them & they are tied in a figure 8 pattern. If they were to start bothering me in the future I would have them removed.
Click to expand...

I have seen other people write that they have three wires. I have nine!! Why this difference?:confused:
 
Dyna said:
No clue.
Are yours all single? Like I posted I only have 3 but the way they are tied effectively makes them act like 12 single wires. Saw them very clearly when they were draining my effusion, even asked what the heck they were.
Click to expand...

Yes, mine are single (at least from reading the surgery report they seem to be) so that must be why.
 
I had 4 or 5, can't remember. I only saw them once when I had an upper GI and I seem to remember that they looked like twist ties. Adrienne, are you 10ft tall? I can't imagine how they would fit 9 otherwise!
 
Welcome aboard, Luciana,

I do have a problem with the wires at the very top of the surgery...they form a bump under the skin and it hurts me sometimes. Nurse Practitioner suggested a 2 hour surgery to remove them...No, thanks, I do not need this. She said if wires come out of the skin, I have to have this small (2 hrs) procedure to prevent infection.
 
Eva, go for it! It's really not a big deal at all. I had general anesthesia only because my doctor wanted to go through a very small incision to get all the wires so there was lots of stretching of skin and reaching with forceps. He said if he had only taken out one wire, I could have had local with sedation. Also, if you are having any problems with your scar, they can try a little scar revision while you are there. It was really much better than my recent dental work! And the long term effect was magnificent.
 
Okay,they didn't bother me before ,but now they do...thanks everyone:rolleyes:
Maybe my 15 extra pounds is helping me afterall.
And I agree that if they were really bothering me I may have surgery
to remove them. Good luck- Dina
 
Lisa in Katy said:
I had 4 or 5, can't remember. I only saw them once when I had an upper GI and I seem to remember that they looked like twist ties. Adrienne, are you 10ft tall? I can't imagine how they would fit 9 otherwise!
Click to expand...

I'm only 5'7½". It clearly says in the report "... closing of sternum with nine steel wires ..." I've tried to count the little bumbs that stick out with my finger, but I can't. There are a lot of little bumps though!
 
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