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Heart Surgery

Started by Qweaver, August 30, 2011, 08:22:12 PM

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Qweaver

This is a strange post to put on a foresty forum but I know we have a wide range of experience here...So I ask.
My doctor is sending me for a heart cath tomorrow to get ready for a heart valve replacement.  I've had a bad valve since I was a child and my heart doc has told me for years that at some point I'd need a new valve.  I guess I'm at that point but I'm not totally convinced.  A pigs valve has an average life span of 15 years and I'm 66.
My only real problem is that I'm getting short of breath with hard exercise.  Walking uphill gets me huffing but this leaky valve won't kill me right away and having to replace the valve again when I'm 81 is not high on my list.  Plus this operation is not for the faint of heart (no pun intended)  I've had several friends go through it and they don't want to do it again.
I guess I'll know more after the heart cath tomorrow.  With my life style...I'm amazed that I made it to 66.  But I don't drive formula cars or jump out of airplanes anymore so maybe I will make it to 81.
Anyone here gone through this?
Quinton







So Many Toys...So Little Time  WM LT28 , 15 trailers, Case 450 Dozer, John Deere 110 TLB, Peterson WPF 10",  AIM Grapple, Kubota 2501 :D

doctorb

The overwhelming idea behind fixing your valve sooner rather than later relates to the strain /damage your heart muscle is sustainng.  With an incompetent valve, your heart has to work harder to eject an adequate volume of blood per beat.  The more incompetent the valve, the harder the muscle works and the more hypertrophied your heart wall gets. That's nice if your bodybuilding your biceps, but it's not good for your pump.

Get the cath. Listen to the reasoning for the timing of any proposed valve surgery, and then get a second opinion. My suggestion is to NOT focus on the average survival of the valve, but to focus on the strain you are putting on your heart now. That shortness of breath means your already compromised. Don't sacrifice a good year at age 66 worrying about a second surgery at 81. If your valve is causing these symptoms now, you probably aren't gonna make it to 81 without a new valve.
My father once said, "This is my son who wanted to grow up and become a doctor.  So far, he's only become a doctor."

DanG

Listen to the Doc, Q!  Also, there's a chance the shortness of breath is being caused by a blockage somewhere.  You'll know more after tomorrow.  Good luck, and keep us posted.
"I don't feel like an old man.  I feel like a young man who has something wrong with him."  Dick Cavett
"Beat not thy sword into a plowshare, rather beat the sword of thine enemy into a plowshare."

ljmathias

Q: exactly same thing happened to me. Turns out, there's a genetic defect that runs in some families, mine included: the aortic valve is supposed to be tricuspid, with three lobes; mine had two, and it had to work a lot harder to do its job.  When I got to be in the late 50's, doctor noted during annual check up that there was a problem: sent me to the heart doctor who said we need to watch this carefully.  Six months later I was helping the neighbor put up trusses on their new house, working hard in the hot summer sun, and all of a sudden felt horrible.  Sat under a hose going full blast for half an hour to cool down and recover.  Went back to the doctor and he said, "Oh, and by the way, the first symptom most people notice is when their heart goes into fibrillation from overwork.  And by the way, that's always fatal."  Lesson learned: don't mess around with a heart valve problem.  You're lucky that you're showing symptoms at all, which means you really, really need the operation.  Turns out, to make a short story long, my brother (a year younger than me) came down with exactly the same thing, but they misdiagnosed it at the VA hospital.  Finally got to see a heart doctor who scheduled surgery two days later: the doctor told me after the operation that my brother would have died within the month had he not caught the valve problem in time.  He's doing great now.

My brother got the cow valve, I had the pig valve put in.  Many reasons, nothing to do with longevity: maybe a mechanical valve made of steel and plastic would last longer (although the recent data doesn't support that anymore with improvements in the preparations used for the animal valves) but you have to take blood thinner for the rest of your life.  If you're at all active, and cut yourself or scratch some part of your body, you bleed pretty bad.  Also, it's hard to adjust the dosage.  With a cow or pig valve- no blood thinner, better blood flow right off the operating table, and even an enlarged heart responds better than with a mechanical valve.

Don't get me wrong: for some, the mechanical is the way to go, but for active (read "not very careful") people like me and my brother (a wood worker), natural is better.  So what if you have to do the operation again: at least your quality of life is good and you still have one.

Oh, and if it turns out your valve problem is genetic, you should have siblings tested, male and female,  plus have your kids checked out as well: very strong genetic link.

If you want any info on recover, let me know- you'll be sore as all get out, recovery takes a few weeks, but then you snap back better than you've been for years!

Lj
LT40, Long tractor with FEL and backhoe, lots of TF tools, beautiful wife of 50 years plus 4 kids, 5 grandsons AND TWO GRANDDAUGHTERS all healthy plus too many ideas and plans and not enough time and energy

thecfarm

Just want to wish you luck.
Model 6020-20hp Manual Thomas bandsaw,TC40A 4wd 40 hp New Holland tractor, 450 Norse Winch, Heatmor 400 OWB,YCC 1978-79

Jeff

Me too. Take care of yourself.
Just call me the midget doctor.
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Burlkraft

Good luck Q

Heart stuff is nothing to scoff at! Running out of juice is not fun. I still have problems at times. I can't muck a Larch out of the swamp like I used to.

I hope it all works out for ya.

When ya have the valve replacement are ya goin' for mechanical or hog?  ;) ;)
Why not just 1 pain free day?

Raider Bill

I concur with Doc B. Good luck!
The First 70 years of childhood is always the hardest.

Sprucegum

Go whole hog! I have never seen an unhappy pig  ;)

scsmith42

Quinton, funny that you should ask.... my Mom is actually the 7th person to survive open heart surgery in the U.S.  She had a valve repaired by a team of surgeons led by Dr. William Cornell in Phoenix, Arizona back in 1968 in a day long surgery that involved packing her body in ice during the proceedure.  The technology has truly come a long way. 

In '78 they replaced her valve (replacement was not an option back in '68), using a mechanical unit as I recall, and then there was an additional operation in the 90's. 

As concerning as heart valve surgery is, it has a long history of success.
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ely

i feel like you will be glad you done the procedure once you have done it. you will feel like a million bucks in a short while. at least thats my experience. good luck prayers are with you.

Bill Gaiche

Qweaver, I believe the Doc gave some very sound info. Hope you make that decission not just for yourself but for all of your family also. They want you around for a long time and in as good of health as possible. Good luck and take care. bg

Qweaver

Thanks for all the replies.  The heart cath gave me good news...no blockage to concerned about.  We have a retired chest surgeon in the family and he gave me the same advice and the name of a Doc that he trusts to do a great job.  Turns out to be the same guy that my cardiologist was suggesting.  So it's off to see the wizard.   :D  I hope to be fit for hunting season. 
Thanks again.
Quinton
So Many Toys...So Little Time  WM LT28 , 15 trailers, Case 450 Dozer, John Deere 110 TLB, Peterson WPF 10",  AIM Grapple, Kubota 2501 :D

DanG

Good deal, Q!  Glad to hear that you don't have additional problems and you're following the wise course.  Prayers will continue. ;)
"I don't feel like an old man.  I feel like a young man who has something wrong with him."  Dick Cavett
"Beat not thy sword into a plowshare, rather beat the sword of thine enemy into a plowshare."

Ernie

The Good Lord gave us two of a lot of things but only one heart, it's worth taking care of.  Take the advice.  Our prayers are with you.
A very wise man once told me . Grand children are great, we should have had them first

Qweaver

The surgery is set for Oct 5th.  Doc says I should be ready for deer season.  I'll get a pig or cow valve and he is not going to have to crack the breast which is good news for me.  I'm trying to get most of my heavy work done before the surgery.  This valve is funny.  I worked really hard yesterday, up and down the hill, and never got short-winded...Yet some days just walking makes me breath hard. 
Quinton
So Many Toys...So Little Time  WM LT28 , 15 trailers, Case 450 Dozer, John Deere 110 TLB, Peterson WPF 10",  AIM Grapple, Kubota 2501 :D

Qweaver

Here's another wrinkle.  Doc says he has 2 pints of blood set aside just in case I need it during surgery.  I really don't like the idea of getting blood from someone that I don't know.  I asked the Doc if I could give my own blood in advance.  He gave an emphatic NO.  He was between surgeries so he did not explain why.  I don't have a good donor match in my family so I guess I'm stuck.  I have a friend that nearly died from a blood transfusion.  Got Hepatitis.
So Many Toys...So Little Time  WM LT28 , 15 trailers, Case 450 Dozer, John Deere 110 TLB, Peterson WPF 10",  AIM Grapple, Kubota 2501 :D

kderby

Eyes on the prize, Quinton!  They will do thier best and you'll get some hunting in.  The alternative is.....


I enjoy your posts.  Get this taken care of so I will see you back here.  I want a report on the new parts under the hood.  I just turned fifty and I found a gray hair.  Yike!!!!

kderby

Raider Bill

How do they replace a valve without cracking the chest? WOW!!  Modern medicine is amazing!!!
The First 70 years of childhood is always the hardest.

doctorb

The sternotomy, or splitting of the sternum (i.e. "cracking the chest"), is avoided by going in between the ribs and spreading them apart.

I would not be worrying about the blood transfusion.  The genetic and immune markers detected in blood donation are very accurate now, and we have an absolute minimum of disease transmission with blood transfusions presently.  You can still have a reaction to matched banked blood, but that does not mean that you will be saddled with a blood transmitted disease.  Least of your worries at this point.  If I needed a blood transfusion and could not donate my blood myself, I would accept it willingly.

There are many reasons to autodonate (donate your own) blood.  There are also many reasons not to autodonate.  The main one is that giving the blood bank 2 units of blood pre-op means you blood count is decreased for surgery, as you will not have enough time to resupply all the blood cells that were taken.  Recent studies have led to a backing off of autodonation.  Some concluded that there was more risk in improper handling of your own blood (not stored or marked correctly) or potentially getting the wrong (unmatched) blood (a nursing error) than their was in receiving appropriately matched blood from a donor.   While autodonation was pretty common 10 years ago, it's done much less often today.  I also think that there are some cost issues pushing this technique into oblivion (aren't there always?).

I did autodonate one unit of blood for my total hip.  But it was at my insistence and not at the recommendation of my surgeon or the hospital.  I marked the bag myself so that, when it was hung up to infuse, I could be sure that I was receiving the same blood that I donated.  I don't envision the blood bank letting the average patient getting to mark up their donated blood bag.  So I took advantage of my position as an MD within my own hospital to assure there was no mistake.
My father once said, "This is my son who wanted to grow up and become a doctor.  So far, he's only become a doctor."

clww

Good luck to you later this week, Q! I'll be saying a prayer for success.
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"Go Ask The Other Master Chief"
18-Wheeler Driver

Qweaver

I'm back home after the surgery.  Everyone says I'm doing exceptionaly well.  I quess I have to take their word for it but I sure feel pretty rough for someone doing so well.   ::)  The valve is doing well but the drugs are giving me fits.  My nursing care givers were such a great group of people.  Just outstanding folks.  Now just a few more weeks of uncomfortable healing and I can put it all behind me.

Quinton
So Many Toys...So Little Time  WM LT28 , 15 trailers, Case 450 Dozer, John Deere 110 TLB, Peterson WPF 10",  AIM Grapple, Kubota 2501 :D

isawlogs

 They must of did something good , ya got out and woke up  ;D  Glad to hear ya feel bad, glad to hear ya made it through and feel bad, glad you are here to tell us you feel so wonderfull ....

  Now take care of yourself and rest up and do as you are told for a short time till you are all healed up.  8) 8)
A man does not always grow wise as he grows old , but he always grows old as he grows wise .

   Marcel

Mooseherder

Glad to hear you're back home.  You'll be good as new soon. :)

Magicman

Wonderful News !!!  Thankfully modern medicine has made the advances that it has and you were a worthy recipient.  Now for your recovery.  Keep us updated.   :)
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