Surgery Soon! New to the Sight

[ShanaleT]

I do feel better after finding out that people are up out of the bed the next day or soon after. My cardiologist has given me a very bad picture of this surgery and had me very concerned. He was not in total agreement with me about doing this electively since the aneurysm was only at 5 cm. He thought I should wait and do something when and if it got bigger. I felt like I have age on my side and that would come in handy during a surgery like this. Therefore, my best friend took the initiative and found out about Dr. Murphy from a Marfan Assoc she had contacted. (Of course, at the time, I was told I probably had Marfans.) Anyway, I met Dr. Murphy once, but was still in shock over the entire procedure that I forgot half of what I wanted to ask him. I see him again on Dec 12, so I have my list ready now. Thanks again, guys, for all of the support. It has made me feel better already.

Shana

 

[JenniferO]

Shana:

On the pregnancy question, go to the message posted by Janice in mid-November on the "Post-Surgery" forum entitled "pregnancy with valve". There are several replies there that will give you some further information. I also noted the message by Mara which gives additional information re my menopause question.

Regarding my mitral valve surgery, I had a couple of meetings with Dr. Donald Doty here in Salt Lake who is one of the most experienced with the Ross procedure and one of the few surgeons in the nation who does homografts (replacement with a human valve from a cadaver). In our conversations, he mentioned he does the homografts or tissue valves in young women who are still planning to have children because pregnancy on Coumadin is definitely not a good thing.

Jennifer

 

[Nancy]

Hi Shana-

Hi Shana-

Hi Shana-

I hope all goes well with your appointment with Dr. Murphy.

Something in your last post has been going around and around in my mind, and that is related to the fact that your cardiologist has given you a very bad picture of this surgery and seemed to scare you quite a bit.

I wanted to let you and others, who might be in a position to have this surgery, know that it's relatively safe and is a life saver. The surgeons who do this are very experienced. Considering the profound nature of open heart surgery, the mortality is nationwide about 2-3% and in some venues might even be lower. Even with these statistics, there are included individuals who are extremely sick and might have a hard time under the best of circumstances.

My guess is that your cardiologist is trying in his not so gentle way to steer you away from surgery until your risk/benefit ratio is less to the risk and more to the benefit. Which, if I could hazard another quess, means that he feels that your heart condition is treatable medically rather than surgically, at least for a time.

Many heart conditions which seem to be scary in nature can be held in check for surprising lengths of time medically without surgical intervention.

In addition to the test results, your symptoms play a large part in what can be done.

Wishing you best of luck with your upcoming appt. Just wanted others to know that it's not as scary as everyone thinks and will save your life and improve the quality of it.

 

[Brade]

Hi Shana,
I had my MV repaired at Cleveland by Dr. Cosgrove on Nov. 8th, and I'm doing great. very little pain now and I am now able to sleep in a bed and actually roll over on my side. It's wonderful. Even though it's been only 3 weeks since surgery, I can tell now that I don't get as tired as I did prior to surgery.
As every one else has said, keep a good attitude and remember, these Doctors are good, they do this every day. You won't regret having surgery. believe me.

 

[Tammy]

St Joseph's

St Joseph's

Hi Shana-

Welcome aboard. My dad had bypass surgery at St. Joseph Hospital and it is a wonderful hospital. I had my valve surgery when I was 26 at Emory Hospital, also in Atlanta.

Keep me posted as to when you are having surgery and I will come by and meet you. I'm not far from St. Joseph's.

I know it is a stressful time but there is also alot for you to look forward to. Getting the surgery completed and feeling better is a plus.

Feel free to e-mail me anytime with any questions or concerns you may have. I know I had plenty myself and unfortunatley this site wasn't around 12 years ago when I had my surgery.
My e-mail is [email protected].

Take Care,

Tammy
MVR 04/06/89

 

[Mara]

Hi Shana and Jennifer

Hi Shana and Jennifer

I guess I need to stop working so hard and get on the VR site more! A lot has been going on! WoW!
Welcome New people.

I know there are some questions floating around out there about the Ross and pregnancy, etc. As Sylvia said, I have researched this. My mom is an RN and director of The Women's Health Resource Center at Women's Hospital in Indianapolis, so I tend to get loaded up with women's health issues. Additionally, my gynecologist, and friend, was very weary about me getting an artificial valve.
I am not a doctor of medicine, so please check with your own docs.
But here goes.

The reason why the Ross is good for younger women is that you can have a relatively complication free pregnancy. No coumadin, no heparin, etc. Now that does not mean you might not be on bed rest, etc. And it is best to go with an ob/gyn who specializes in high risk pregnancies.

My cardio told me he did not think it was "wise" for me to get pregnant. But, your situation might be different.
As far as mechanical valves...I think the biggest concern is the coumadin. You have to go off of it, go on heparin and be in the hospital.

Shana- if you have Marfan's the Ross is a no for you. Looks as if you are with a tissue valve or a mechanical. Check with your surgeon about the CryoValve SG. I have that as my new pulmonic, and Steve has it as his aortic. IT might be a really good option for you. Plus, it's new and hi-tech.

Jennifer-
as to length of stay in the hospital I think it varies with the person. Sylvia's husband, Joey, was in longer than I was. I was in 3.5 days after surgery. Surgery on a thursday home by noon on Monday! It was great. but, I attribute it to my doctor who does complimentary medicine. I know you think it sounds wacky, but it really worked for me. Perry A. has been doing it too, ask him about his low cholesterol.
I started about 2 months pre-op getting nutritional IV's and using supplements and eating more soy and protein. My surgery was 7 hours, 5 hours on the by-pass pump. I still had minimal drainage, etc. Read my story on the personal story page. My brother, an anesthesiology who does a lot of open heart surgeries, was amazed how quickly I was off the vent. and had my chest tubes and catheter yanked. Post-op I continued with the nutrional IV's and the supplements, and now am doing a regime that will help my heart recover and hopefully give me 30 years before I need a reoperation.
I think, and I hope Perry would agree, that something good and easy to do now is to add more soy to your diet. It is pretty easy to do. There are some pretty tasty soy foods out there. My personal favorites are the TruSoy brand bars..peanut butter/fudge, the Oasis ones are pretty good, Dr. Soy and GeniSoy. The shake powders are pretty good too. a really fun one is ToFootie Cuties, they are ice cream sandwiches made with soy, but taste just like a real ice cream sandwich! Yum.
Also Quaker makes an instant oatmeal with added soy. Anything that says "nutrition for women" means added soy protein.

Have your iron level checked. You can really get depleted from the surgery. I needed 2 units of blood in the hospital because of low hemoglobin, and then ate red meat once a day for a month post -op.

The surgery is big and scary but is manageable and you will feel great afterwards!
-Mara

 

[ShanaleT]

Hello everyone! Sorry it takes me so long to get back to the sight, but by the time I get my son, Brant, to bed, I am ready for it myself.

Mara, I really appreciate the answers regarding pregnancy. None of my docs were too thrilled to hear that I would want to try another pregnancy, especially since I have a wonderful and healthy child. Also, because of the risk that I MIGHT have Marfans, that could be passed on to my children as well. I knew that if I got pregnant, I would have to go off the coumidin and go on heparin. I did not know that I would probably end up in the hospital for most of the pregnancy. That is not possible with Brant. My husband is good, but not that good. HaHa I guess I have decided to put the issue aside since I have been told by 2 surgeons that they would not recommend anything but the mechanical valve because of the aneurysm location. That's ok, though, I am willing to accept it.

Tammy, that is great that you are so close to the hospital. St Joseph's was a beautiful place when we visited the first time. I will be checking into the hospital on Jan 2 and my surgery is on Jan 3 at 7:30. I am going down a couple of times before then to have blood taken to be used for my surgery. My doc felt it would help me heal faster. I would love to meet you in person. If nothing else, I live close enough to Atlanta, we could meet for dinner sometime.

All in all, I guess I am ready for this to be over with. I have waited 9 months to get this done and I am down to the last month. I still continually worry and I am starting to have nightmares, which is strange because I normally do not remember my dreams. But I know it is just from my stress level going up since I recently accepted a promotion at work to go along with this in my life.

Thanks for all of your prayers and thoughts and I will be checking in soon. With the holidays, a spare moment is hard to come by.

Oh, by the way, GO VOLS!!! We finally beat Florida AGAIN!!!!!

Shana

 

[Eddie W.]

I will be undergoing VR also on 3 Jan 2001 at Phobe Putney Memorial Hospital in Albany, Georgia. Dr Anthony V. Hoots will be preforming the procedure. I will keep you in my prayers!
May God be with you and Yours throughout you procedure!

 

[hensylee]

Hi Eddie - I was born many, many, many...yrs ago not far from Camilla. Have relatives all around there. Even some in Albany. It's a good hospital from what I hear. I wish you well. You are listed in the calendar, so everyone will know and be thinking of you on that day, especially. We also want to know how you are, so if there's someone who can post to us, we appreciate that since we are all anxious when one of us is in surgery - the family thing, you know - we care. God bless

 

[Denise]

Hello Hensylee --

It is nice to meet someone who lived near Albany. I will be posting as soon as I can following Eddie's surgery on the 3rd. We are both anxious, ready for it to be here and get Eddie back healthy and strong again.

Will be in touch. I would like to thank who ever put his name on the calendar. This site has been a God send to us.

Happy Holidays to All!

 

[hensylee]

Hi Denise - don't know who put Eddie's name on the calendar - many know how to do it, but I think Hank keeps track, too. I tried it once but got it all wrong! Anyway, we depend upon the calendar to keep up with who is having surgery and when. And that way we can think a bit stronger about our member and family on that day and then wait for someone to tell us that the member is over the mountaintop safely with the rest of us. As we will wait for your post. God bless