Background
I had rheumatic fever at
age 10, in 1963 (when Kennedy
was assassinated) and mitral
valve repair with aortic valve
replacement with homograft in
Jan 2001.
Finding a Surgeon
In late 1999 my
cardiologist told me I should
seek a second opinion for
surgery, but no hurry. I went
to Cleveland (CCF) for the
second opinion because my
cardiologist told me that I
should have it done there in
NJ or Cleveland or Houston. I
found the CCF web site and
found just a small amount of
information. I went to
Cleveland in July 2000 and Dr.
Griffin recommended surgery.
He also recommended Dr
Cosgrove as a surgeon, who he
described as the best. I had
previously seen Dr Cosgrove's
name on the CCF web site. In
Aug 1999, I found VR.com from
Hank's posting on the CCF web
site. I also saw Dr Cosgrove's
name on the VR.com web site.
So, I decided on Dr Cosgrove.
I think finding a good
surgeon/hospital is the most
important part of the surgery
and there are differences in
quality between surgeons/
hospitals.
Surgery Details
On Friday, Jan 12, 2001, I
had my surgery without ever
talking to the surgeon or with
the cardiologist since July
2000. I just thought the
surgeon would re-assure me
about what he was about to do.
My surgery lasted eleven hours
with 4 ½ hours on the
heart/lung machine. The reason
it took so long was because
the surgeon tried to repair
the Aortic valve twice, but it
leaked, so he gave up and put
in a homograft. They had to
defibrillate my heart (shock
to heart) since it would not
start. It was more difficult
that normal. . My wife was
kept well informed in the
waiting area. One noteworthy
remark by the surgeon was
"Why did they wait so
long". I woke up at 9 PM
with that throat tube, but
fell back to sleep and the
next thing I knew it was gone.
I was in that ICU for three
days and barely slept. I
watched that clock go around
and around and around. I never
took anything for pain since
there was no pain) and just
once for the nausea. I should
have taken something just to
let me sleep to cut down the
hours. They did not give me
food until Monday since my
heart was irregular and they
did a cardio-vert on Monday
morning and no food is
allowed.
The Small Things I
Experienced
Here is a list:
1 - I had surgery on
Friday, which left me in the
ICU until Monday. You can
avoid a long ICU stay by
having surgery earlier in the
week. At least that's what I
believe.
2 - I had a problem
with the confinement. The
nurses let me stand and sit in
a chair even on the first day
after surgery, but I was
connected with an IV, oxygen
and a catheter. I really
should have watched TV.
Reading and listening to tapes
just didn't interest me.
Distractions are a must.
3 - The nausea went
away as soon as I ate. Also, I
had a cup of apple juice and
the nausea went away for a few
hours.
4 - My wife and
daughter visited me and helped
me pass the hours. It was
great having the two of them
there.
5 - Before I left the
ICU they cardio-verted my
heart (shock) to get it back
to normal rhythm. It worked
for five hours.
6 - When I went to a
normal room on Monday they
still wouldn't let me walk. I
was pretty annoyed, but put up
with the guy nurse who turned
out to be pretty good.
7 - The catheter was
attached until Tuesday
morning.
8 - The oxygen attached
in my nose was not removed
until Wednesday. That was the
same day they removed the IV (medication
for irregular heartbeat).
9 - There was a pacer
attached to my stomach to keep
my heart beating, probably
because of surgery
complications and irregular
heartbeat. It was
uncomfortable because I could
not sleep on my stomach.
10 - There was a large
growth on the back of my
tongue after surgery. I didn't
even tell them until I was out
of ICU. They told me that it
never happens, just unique to
me.
11 - I had a sore
throat that was independent of
the growth. I complained about
it, but they never treated it.
I didn't find out that this
was an infection until well
after I left, two weeks after
surgery.
12 - A week after
leaving the hospital, my sore
throat turned into the flu.
This was despite that I had a
flu shot.
13 - The flu caused a
lot of coughing. I can
remember being tired of
coughing, but it was not
painful.
14- My incision was
only three inches and never
seemed to hurt
15 - They told me I had
pericarditis (inflammation of
the heart lining) on my
release day. They let me go
and gave me a prescription.
16 - My irregular
heartbeat persisted for a
month, then went back to
normal. I took Amiodarone and
Coumadin for three months
total, two months after my
heart went back to normal
rhythm.
17 - I still had
difficulty sleeping for at
least two weeks after hospital
release.
18 - My taste buds did
not work correctly until about
three weeks after hospital
release.
19 - There were plenty
of stiffness aches and pains
which went away after a few
weeks.
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