he is relativly healthy....i.e. never smoked and does not drink.. he does have diabeties..does not take insulin shots...he is 45 pounds overweight...what can we expect for recovery time (without complications).he was told his valve has two flaps insted of three. was born with this defect,.he is a-syptomatic at this time..he has loud heartones, and dr. noticed a thrill when listening to his neck last month. the cardiologist doesnt know when he should have the surgery done because he has no bad symptoms; occasionaly he tires out and rests often ...what is a average hospital stay and home recovery time.. do they approch the heart threw sternum and do they stop his heart..i know some surgeries they don't stop the heart anymore..what is the average time in operating room etc..i only expect times etc..without complications..i thank you very much..my husband really needs to read your answers as he wont read up on it on his own--and i know he has concerns and wont ask anyone for advise..
2006-09-19 11:07:55 · 4 answers · asked by queen crystal 2 in Health ➔ Diseases & Conditions ➔ Heart Diseases
Valve surgery is not without risks, however if your husband is limited in activity by his valve...then he definately needs it.
Stenotic or tight mitral valves if left untreated can lead to pulmonary hypertension which is irreversible.
Being overweight and diabetic does increase his chance of complications, but he is only 55, which is good...
He will need to have an angiogram to see whether he needs a bypass + valve or just a bypass alone. The risks increase with combining the surgeries slightly, but the benifits are much larger if he truly needs both.
Without complications, he should be out of the OR in 4 hours, out of the ICU after 48-72 hours...Step down unit for 24 hours...then a regular ward for 5-7 days for a total time of 12-14 days.
Stopping the heart sounds bad in theory, but in clinical trials, surgery done without stopping had no better outcomes than surgery with the heart stopped. So, it makes no difference.
The approach is definately through the sternum.
Hope this helps.......Good luck
2006-09-19 11:20:09 · answer #1 · answered by intqs 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Are they going to use a st. Johns value? My mom had that done about 4 years ago. she was 42, she had rheumatic fever when she was young, which caused her mitral value to harden and regurgitate the blood instead of pumping it through. The surgery time seemed like an eternity, but was about 10 hours. After that she was in ICU for 24 hours, she stayed in the hospital for about 7 days. The recovery time at home was about a month or so, but I had to move back in to help her out. Her surgery was open heart, yes they had to stop her heart and put her on bipass.
Your husbands condition sounds like there should not be any after surgery problems. My mom 's value was much worse then they expected, so she still has some problems, tired all the time. If he is getting the st johns value, expect to hear it, my mom sounds like a clock ticking, some days louder than others, but you can always hear it. You really need to talk to the doctor about your concerns. They will try to tell you every thing before they go in for the surgery. GOOD LUCK!!!!!!!!
2006-09-20 11:44:14 · answer #2 · answered by tnmomof2as 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
You really need to be discussing this type of serious surgery with your Surgeon and not non professional strangers on the Internet. You can get better info at MY WEB MD than here. You should already have a consultation with your surgeon scheduled. If you don't have an appointment, make one. Your Cardiologist will recommend a good heart Surgeon for you to see. He will go over the entire procedure in detail and answer all of your questions there and then. You can be in the room and ask the Surgeon directly what you need to know. Good Luck!
Also did your Cardiologist scheduled any further testing such as a scan of your husband's heart? That is rather unusual for him to recommend surgery without some kind of test or scan.
2006-09-19 18:16:53 · answer #3 · answered by Island Queen 6 · 0⤊ 1⤋
sounds like me , i had aslight heart attack when i was 26 and the cardiologist said or found that i had a prolasped mitral valve with a click, leaky valve. at that time a pig valve was recomended and i declined!i am 49 and diabetic too! but they have me on corgard sinse i was 26 . my dr, hasn`t said to have the surgery again but if i were you do as the dr says but get 2nd opinion.see if it is needed!and not just the dr, needing money!
2006-09-19 18:19:49 · answer #4 · answered by lilquiltsprogram 2 · 0⤊ 1⤋