Open Heart Surgery My 100 hour Mitral Valve Repair (Introduction)

For me at least, the apprehension was based on not knowing what to expect: How much pain is involve and am I going to be able to handle it? What are the doctors and nurses going to do for me and what am I expected to do for myself? What are my options if any? Questions like these kept racing through my mind. I searched the web for information on Mitral Valve Repair and Replacement. There were hundreds of sites, mostly sponsored by various hospitals that do this type of surgery. You could see actual pictures of hearts at various stages of repair, animation of the surgical procedure, and boilerplate numbers on typical hospital stays, recovery times, etc. All fine and good, but none addressed my concerns: "What am I going to experience, what am I going to feel?". Hopefully I can shed a little light on this by sharing my own experiences with you here.

I'm sure there are some of you reading this that have already made up your minds that this isn't for you, and I certainly can understand. As an incentive to continue reading this page, let me assure you it is not as bad as you might imagine, and the whole process can be over and done with in just a few days. Here was my schedule of events...

If you still aren't convinced... The first day I was able to leave my room and walk the halls of the hospital, an elderly woman passed me like I was standing still (the tortoise and hare scenario). I looked at her and noticed she too had a fresh Sternotomy scar. I asked the nurse about her and was told she was 96 years old and had the same operation I did. If a 60 year old chicken going through this doesn't convince you that you can as well, think of this 96 year old woman sprinting down the hall!

1. Preparation: The events that transpired between the time it was determined that Mitral Valve surgery was inevitable, and the day before the actual surgery.
2. Screening, Surgery and Hospital Stay: This covers my initial consultation with the surgeon, the actual surgery (what I remember of it), and the recovery time in the hospital.
3. Recovery: A work in progress, this page will (still not written) cover my recovery from the time I left the hospital to ??? To give you a little advanced preview, I think this was (and is) the most difficult of all three events, both the living of it and trying to get it documented for this web site.

Unfortunately I am no where near completing this web page. It has proven to be the most difficult of all those attempted. Perhaps it is the complexity of the procedure, or perhaps it is the fact that the recovery process is ongoing and it is pretty difficult to write about events that are still in flux. What ever the reason, there is some doubt if I will ever finish it. For that reason, I've decided to give you the summary here in the beginning, rather than wait for an end that may never come...

Mitral Valve Surgery - a quick overview...

• This is something you do because you have to. This is something you do because if you don't, things are going to get worse and eventually beyond the point of repair. For some, it is a non-decision; your quality of life diminishes to the point where you will do anything to make it better. To others, like myself, who are relatively asymptomatic, its a more difficult call. My cardiologist told me that my MVP (Mitral Valve Prolapse) was so severe that, if left uncorrected, would cause irreparable damage to my heart.
• This is major surgery and there are associated risks. There are many things you can do to minimize those risk such as:
  • Find the very best cardiovascular surgeon you can. This person will literally be holding your life in his or her hands! In my case, I was very lucky to find a surgeon that went the extra mile to save my valve, rather than take the much easier path of replacing it with an organic (pig) or mechanical valve, both of which have associated risks and / or limitations.
  • Have your surgery done at a hospital that specializes in cardiac surgery. Your surgery and rapid recovery depend not only on the surgeon, but also on the nursing and support staff. Hospitals that specialize in cardiac surgery are most likely to have the best of the best, with the experience to handle any situation that may arise.
  • Undergo thorough cardiovascular screening prior to your surgery. If any thing else need repairing (such as a blocked artery) best do it at the same time. Believe me, you don't want to go through this any more times than absolutely necessary!
  • Ask your surgeon how many units of blood will be required for your surgery and donate that blood ahead of time at your local blood bank (Autologous Blood Donation). There is no safer, more compatible blood than your own. Check with your doctor first and if he says it is safe to donate blood, by all means do it.
  • If you have any health issues such as a bad cold, sore throat, etc. get these attended to prior to banking your blood. It is also a good idea to have your hemoglobin level checked and supplement your diet with iron pills or iron rich foods if necessary. The blood bank will not collect your blood if your hemoglobin levels are too low.
• Yes, there is pain involved, but it is manageable. Pain is relative and highly subjective. Each of us has our own pain threshold and level of tolerance. Fortunately with the medications they have today, it is fully manageable. Keep in mind, even though it is possible to completely block the pain, this isn't always a wise thing to do. Pain takes over where common sense fails.
• The anticipation is far worse than the event! As with every medical procedure I've reported here, the anxiety and anticipation was far worse than the actual surgery. In fact, since you sleep through the whole ordeal, it is pretty much a nonevent. Yes, there is a certain amount of discomfort during the post-op recovery, but it certainly is manageable. I guess the worse pain I've experienced in my life was when I had a root canal. I can promise you the pain I experienced in the hospital after surgery was nothing compared to that of the endodontist tap dancing on an exposed root, 2 inches from my brain!
• Knowing what's involved, how do you do it? I've been asked this question several times and my answer is always: "You just do; step-by-step, day-by-day, you just keep going until it's over with". Seems like a simplistic answer I know, but that really says it all. You aren't doing this because you want to, but rather because you have to. Once you accept that fact, and go with the tide rather than against it, the sooner you'll be able to come to terms with it and the sooner you'll be able to invest your emotional energy in what really matters... in getting well. It took me a very long time to learn this lesson.

In all of my web pages to date, I've tried to tell it as it is; i.e. to give the reader an honest representation of what is involved, both the good and the bad. I'd like to tell you that all went smooth and that I feel 20 year younger since having the surgery done, but unfortunately it just isn't true. The fact of the matter is, I feel worse now than I did before the surgery. Perhaps it is just too soon; it has been only 6 weeks since the surgery. In fact I really have no idea what the norm is. I've been told that some people have run a 10K marathon race only 6 weeks after surgery. Others have told me it can take up to a year to fully recover. It's interesting that the doctors and nurses give you a great deal of information on the surgery and the events leading up to it, but virtually no information on what to expect once it is over. Hopefully I can shed some light on the subject as time passes...

About the logo... "Veni, Vidi, Vici" (I came, I saw, I conquered ) was Julius Caesar's battle cry. I felt that it was an appropriate motto for anyone who has undergone open heart surgery. Perhaps someday I'll make it into a button and hand them out to patients in the Cardiac Ward.

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Page Updated: 26-Apr-2005