Surgery date set: February 1st

[MrZoom]

My surgery date is set. Tuesday, February 1st at Monongalia General Hospital here in Morgantown.

My surgeon is Dr. Kee C. Lee. http://www.keecleemd.com/ He has been doing cardiac surgeries for over 25 years. My cardiologist spoke very highly of him, said his experience is comparable to some surgeons at Cleveland Clinic.

I will be having three surgeries in one:
1) Aortic valve replacement with homograft valve
2) Cox-Maze procedure to cure atrial fibrilation
3) Close VSD

As for the hospital - they have received an award several years running as among the top 5% in the country for patient safety. Only hospital in West Virginia this past year to receive this award.

The reason for the homograft valve is that I am prone to urinary infections (in fact I'm being treated for one now). This gives me the lowest risk of having a UTI turn into endocarditis. Infection is Dr. Lee's biggest concern.

Edward

 

[Mentu]

Hi, Edward, welcome to VR. It sounds as though you are likely to feel quite different after surgery. I hope things go well for you and look forward to hearing more of your experiences. If you have questions and want to share them with us, we will try to answer them. What we can certainly do is assure you that your experience with surgery and your recovery will probably be a lot less traumatic than you might imagine.

Larry

 

[Duffey]

Edward, I just put your date on our surgical calendar. We'll be with you in spirit on the 1st.
You sound very cool, calm and collected, so you've taken care of 90% of the stress that precedes this surgery.
Best wishes and we'll be waiting for further posts along your journey.:smile2:

 

[escargome]

Shall keep you in my thoughts come the 1st. By the way, did you speak with surgeon and cardiologist about assistance for you after your surgery? Hope they can arrange for someone to help.

 

[mainframe]

I'm glad your comfortable with your surgeon and the hospital. That takes alot of worry out of all of this. Will be thinking of you on the 1st and look forward to hearing of your progress.

 

[MrZoom]

Shall keep you in my thoughts come the 1st. By the way, did you speak with surgeon and cardiologist about assistance for you after your surgery? Hope they can arrange for someone to help.

They plan to transfer me to a rehab facility when my stay at the hospital is concluded.

 

[Lily]

Hoping all goes well for your surgery and recovery, Edward. I hope the rehab facility is all that you need it to be.

BTW, my cardio told me too that keeping my teeth and gums healthy was very important, when I asked him how I could keep my tissue valve as long as possible.

Oh, and one of the things I had to run around for nearly at the last minute before my valve surgery was dental clearance from my local dentist. I don't know if you've been forewarned about this but if not you may want to check into it.

Again, best wishes MrZoom

 

[escargome]

Oh, and one of the things I had to run around for nearly at the last minute before my valve surgery was dental clearance from my local dentist. I don't know if you've been forewarned about this but if not you may want to check into it.

Again, best wishes MrZoom

Edward. Please follow Lily's advise. Also, the one thing that almost sidelined my surgery was a UTI. Make sure you check with your doctor's about clearance for that also since I believe you said you were fighting one right now. God Bless You

 

[njean]

Wishing you the very best with your upcoming surgery in February, Edward! And please follow the advice Chris offered concerning asking your cardio and/or surgeon for a home care nurse. My PCP told us that if I needed a home nurse, to call his office and they would arrange something for me. So just ask!

Prayers going out to you!

 

[MrZoom]

Edward. Please follow Lily's advise. Also, the one thing that almost sidelined my surgery was a UTI. Make sure you check with your doctor's about clearance for that also since I believe you said you were fighting one right now. God Bless You

Dr. Lee and his staff asked me when I had my last dental appointment. I informed them it was in November and the dentist didn't see any problems. So, they told me that was sufficient. I may still call my dentist on Monday just to be sure (she is closed on Fridays).

Also, they had me ask my urologist to put me on a course of suppressive antibiotic after this infection is clear, through the date of the surgery, and he agreed.

 

[escargome]

Dr. Lee and his staff asked me when I had my last dental appointment. I informed them it was in November and the dentist didn't see any problems. So, they told me that was sufficient. I may still call my dentist on Monday just to be sure (she is closed on Fridays).

Also, they had me ask my urologist to put me on a course of suppressive antibiotic after this infection is clear, through the date of the surgery, and he agreed.

Well then Mr.Zoom, it appears that you are all set.

 

[Sarah_Louise]

Good luck!
I hope everything goes well xx

 

[Greg a]

Mr Zoom,Edward, glad you have the rehab arranged as they will pobably have a Hoyer Lift avialable to aid with the transfers you need and will help with the sternal precautions

 

[MrZoom]

So, almost halfway from the consultation to the surgery. 15½ days to go. Still have some things to wrap up at work.

I'm starting to get a little more nervous. Part of this is because I asked Dr. Lee if I had a higher risk than the average patient. He said yes, but he said he was unsure just how much more risk. His biggest concern is infection.

So, someone give me some reassurance, please?

Also, does it help to have things to look forward to after your recovery? .... I've got a few things coming up .... have a timeshare exchange week in Gatlinburg booked for end of April/beginning of May (I hope I'm well enough to travel by then) .... Pope John Paul II's beatification during that week .... possible trip to San Antonio on Memorial Day weekend (again, depends on my recovery) .... and my friend Lisa is getting married in June. The Gatlinburg vacation was booked before I found out I needed surgery, BTW. And if I can't go, I did purchase cancellation insurance.

 

[Lily]

I don't know what kind of infection your surgeon may be concerned with but he will likely give you an instrument called a spirometer for breathing exercises and it can be extremely helpful for you to hopefully avoid some types of post-op complications and infections. Hope that helps

 

[drivetopless]

Get a flu shot if you haven't already, and maybe a pnuemonia shot.
Recovery is tough on the lungs, as you'll see. That spirometer will be your best friend.
Good luck, Edward. You'll do fine. It is good they are concerned--means they are paying attention to potential issues and can head them off pre-emptively. DOn't let it freak you out too much.

Good luck!

Tracy-6 days post op.

 

[Cooker]

Edward ... Welcome to the zoo:biggrin2: ... lots of good info and support here ... glad you found us:thumbup:

 

[kfay]

Mr. Zoom, I believe a positive attitude certainly goes a long way towards getting you through this. You'll be fine. You may have a little tougher road than most of us simply because you use your arms to do so much more and that may be a little more difficult at first, but I'm sure they will have a plan in place to help you out. Your trips sound nice, and since they are almost 3 months post op, you should be in good shape to go.

Please keep us posted about how you are doing when you get a chance.

Kim

 

[Lynlw]

I think having a posotive attitude AND something to look forward to really helps. Justin's last surgery, was kind of a surprise (since he just had surgery 2 years earlier) and he already had plans made to go to Cal Ripkens Hall of Fame that summer. We tried to get the surgery ASAP so he had time to recover and even with having to go back to the OR for an infection 10 days post op, since he was determined to make it to Cooperstown, that was his focus and not the fact he basically had to start his recovery all over.

 

[COLLEEN S]

Did you choose your surgeon based on his mortality and success rates? Did you choose your hospital? If your surgeon is worried about a UTI, hopefully he will take the precaution of prophalactic antibiotics in your IV. I don't want to scare you, just want to make sure you took all precautions and checked this surgeon out.