Thread: open heart surgery

thanks for the tip about the crying acme i will look out for it
the angiogram got cancelled last thursday the machine had a wobbly attack and have reprogramed it for this friday with the surgeon reviewing it next tuesday

Originally Posted by Farm boy

Hi Guys thankyou for your thoughts
they took 1/2 my thyroid out, benign mass growing around the wind pipe
i do an angiogram on thursday then see surgeon the following tuesday to organise surgery
i would like to ask any of you guys take warfarin, there is a chance if they put a mechanical valve in i will be on warfarin for life
i would prefer a pig or cow valve but it depends on what the doctors find with the angiogram
greg

Hi Greg

Here is my take on it.

When I had my Quad I had a murmur in my heart from a leaking valve and the anesthetist asked me if I was going to have the valve done so I asked the cardiologist what he thought and he said that I would be trading for one disease for another and a pig valve would only last 10 years then it would have to be replaced and I would be on warfarin for the rest of my life with the pig valve so I opted out of the valve replacement.

My father-in-law had two mechanical valves put in his heart in 1973 and he lived for 26 years and died at age 86 and at the time he was the oldest living recipient at the time with mechanical heart valves. He was on warfarin all that time.

Now don't take this as medical advise but just as information to digest.

I had open heart surgery to repair a 30 mm atrial septal defect, and for a single coronary artery bypass 3 1/2 years ago. I found that the pain from the chest opening was not nearly as bad as that from the cuts made in my calf and thigh to harvest veins for the bypass. In any case, the pain had pretty much gone after about three weeks. After 4 weeks I flew from Brisbane to Canberra to visit the Bungendore gallery, and I was able to climb a steep 600' hill exactly five weeks after the surgery, which was done when I was aged 72. I am reasonably hopeful that I shall survive another ten years or so, unless I am hit by a bus.

You can be pretty confident that you will survive the surgery and feel much better after it is done. I never felt depressed after the surgery, although an acquaintance of mine was affected by depression after open heart surgery. I was just very happy to feel much better after my recovery. I was told to stay out of my shop for six weeks after the surgery.

Rocker

The wife was on Warfrin. Bruised easily and had to be very careful with what she ate.

If Warfrin is prescribed you will be given a list of foods to avoid.

LOML found the regular testing to be the worst part.

Since I had my 2 bypasses and two stents I have been on Plavix and Imdur. Also take Fish oil capsules.

So far so good.

I met several other patients with bypasses. Some talked about bouts of crying, some went int depression and I think all of them had nightmares and/or bad dreams. Just par for course by all accounts. the

thanks everyone for your kind words and encouragment
I had the angiogram with mixed results, all my arteries are clear with no blockages
how ever the aortic root has severe dilation increased from moderate in a few months which i guess is probably the result of the aortic valve regurtitating I get to see the surgeon next Tuesday and will find out when I get my surgery
I must be a special case, all the other guys got there angiogram through there arm but I drew the short straw and got mine in the groin ouch as the femeral aretery is better to go through for my problem
It felt very strange
greg

The waiting must be nerve racking. good luck with your operation. I have a friend who had this surgery about 10 years ago and is thriving in his 80s.

My Surgeon has had bad experiences with pig valves and reckons if i get one i will see him in 5 years to or so to get replaced with a 30% chance of mortatlity on the table when i get it replaced
so i am going for a mechanical valve and synthetic aoric root as well, it is the best option for me and my condition and get the chop in 30 days or less as my condition is not very good
Greg

Hope it all goes well. The sooner the better now as the waiting is probably the worst part at this stage

Hi All
I am back with the living,I spent 8 days in hospital having heart surgery the first 3 days are a big blur even the other days are fairly vague with the drugs they give you then they kicked me out but then 2 days later was readmitted with a bacterea infection compliments of the hospital and spent another 8 days on IV drips and more antibiotics to take home for another month or two
the bacterea infection is called Scarriatta and lives under your skin festering away
although i feel good within myself, the antibiotics have some bad side effects diziness and nausea are the top two
I can handle 5 minutes on the computer then i havent got the patience to stay on any longer
best wishes for now
Greg

Glad to see you back in the land of the living Greg.
Kick that infection and you'll be good as new. Better even.

Glad to hear youre back with us Greg. All the best with your recuperation mate.

Cheers Martin

Good you're up and about and in the land of the living!

Foo

Good to see you back among us Greg!!

Bummer about the infection but that seems to be under control.

Remember to talk to your dentist about your op and the drug regime. You will most probably be prescribed antibiotics before any dental procedure to prevent chances of bacterial infection getting to your heart.


All the best mate and let us know how you are progressing.

Good luck with the recovery Greg.

And yes, I'm afraid depression is a relatively common reaction after major heart surgery.