open heart surgery

[Farm boy]

Hi all
I got told i need open heart surgery(Bentall Procedure) last wednesday and i am still soaking it in, i also have 2 masses growing in my throat that have to come out first
has anyone had open heart surgery here and what was the recovery like. 3 or 4 months i guess?
in preporation for all of this i am going to clean my shed out, so i may have a few tools to get rid of keep an eye out on maket place if interested
thanks
Greg

[NCArcher]

Bugger. Sorry to hear of your health issues Greg.
Recovery times for OHS have drastically reduced in recent years. I had a friend at archery who insited on shooting less than a fortnight after surgery. He's still around. :;
Good luck with the surgery and hope you have a speedy recovery. Keep us informed.

[Chesand]

Hi Greg
I had quad bypass surgery just on 13 years ago and while it is not something I would recommend I do not look back on it with any great trauma. I was home within a week, back at work (not a highly physical job) and driving inside 6 weeks. The total recovery time is 3 months to allow the breastbone to fully knit.
If there is a Cardiac Rehab course available to you after the surgery, I highly recommend that you do it. It should be covered by private health insurance if you have it.
I have not looked back since the surgery and am able to all the things I did before. The major drawback is travel insurance where they hit you with an extra premium because of "a pre-existing condition"
Above all, maintain a positive attitude and I am sure that you will come through OK

Hope that helps

[wheelinround]

Greg have an uncle who is in the Zipper club opened up 3 times as well as mates at the turning group all long time survivors. Take care and we'll hear from you within days of being released I am sure.

[artme]

Just read up on the procedure Greg. Not a pleasant thing to go through but, as others have said, these days it is almost bread and butter work for good surgeons.

The thought of the masses causes me more concern.


All the best mate! Trust things go really well.

[Foo]

All the best with it mate!:2tsup:

[ian]

you're in relatively good company, Kevin Rudd is shortly to have similar work done on his heart -- for a second time, he's worn out the first replacement valve, so the prognosis is pretty good

[Barry_White]

Well Greg I had my Quad 6 years ago when I was 67 and it took 3 months for the bones to heal in my chest but other than that I was fine. I did participate in extra curricular activities two weeks after.

Since my prostate operation in March this year though all extra curricular activities have been curtailed for ever because all the vital bits for that have been removed.

[Farm boy]

thanks for your messages of support guys:2tsup:,the waiting is the worst part
i am pretty cool about the op ,i was hoping they take the lumps out first but they look like they might be doing the heart first:((
i see the throat surgeon next monday and will know more then about the goolies
i was hoping they do both ops at once but they dont believe in 2 for the price of 1:D
i will give you guys an update when i find out more
Greg

[Farm boy]

Just a quick update
went to throat surgeon yesterday i am getting a partial thyroid removal with a 50/50 chance of cutting the sternum (my goolies are growing down into my chest cavity)
If they find cancer ( ther are 4 types) 1 type bad 3 are ok then they can get the rest of the thyroid or if ok go for open heart 3 weeks after that:D
back to woodwork in 3 or so months touch wood as the old saying goes
my wife felt that bad she let me buy a 42 inch lcd tv for the bedroom so i can recover in piece :2tsup:
Greg

[NCArcher]

my wife felt that bad she let me buy a 42 inch lcd tv for the bedroom so i can recover in piece :2tsup:
Greg

there's always a silver lining somewhere amongst the mess.
Best of luck with the ops.

[kiwigeo]

Just a quick update
went to throat surgeon yesterday i am getting a partial thyroid removal with a 50/50 chance of cutting the sternum (my goolies are growing down into my chest cavity)
If they find cancer ( ther are 4 types) 1 type bad 3 are ok then they can get the rest of the thyroid or if ok go for open heart 3 weeks after that:D
back to woodwork in 3 or so months touch wood as the old saying goes
my wife felt that bad she let me buy a 42 inch lcd tv for the bedroom so i can recover in piece :2tsup:
Greg

All the best with the surgery Greg...hope you have a speedy recovery and youre back in the workshop real soon.

[Ashore]

Just saw this greg , let me know if theres anything I can do
Russell

[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

[Foo]

My fingers are crossed for you Greg!:)

[acmegridley]

Not warfarin but next best thing clopidorol just bump yourself, you bruise and bleed like a stuck pig.
Be careful, staff at the hospital told me you unexpectedly, at odd times, start crying,for no reason at all,it has something to do with the bypass machine when they cool your blood some strange sort of metamorphosis takes place.It happens to nearly all zipper cases,but if thats the worse that can happen?
Good luck:2tsup::2tsup::2tsup:

[Farm boy]

thanks for the tip about the crying acme i will look out for it:2tsup:
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

[Barry_White]

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.

[Rocker]

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

[artme]

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

[Farm boy]

thanks everyone for your kind words and encouragment
I had the angiogram with mixed results, all my arteries are clear with no blockages:2tsup:
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

[munruben]

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. :2tsup::2tsup:

[Farm boy]

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 :rolleyes:
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

[Chesand]

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

[Farm boy]

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

[NCArcher]

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

[kiwigeo]

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

Cheers Martin

[Foo]

Good you're up and about and in the land of the living!:2tsup:

Foo

[artme]

Good to see you back among us Greg!!:2tsup::2tsup::2tsup:

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.

[rsser]

Good luck with the recovery Greg.

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