Yesterday marked the 12 week point from open heart on surgery. I return to work today. On Sep 10th, I underwent open heart surgery from 7:30 a.m. to 10pm that night. First a right coronary artery was resected. The second procedure involved ligation of a complex coronary fistula from the right coronary artery to the pulmonary artery and left anterior descending artery to the pulmonary artery with a nest of large collaterals surrounding the pulmonary artery. That one took the most time of the 1st three procedures. The 3rd procedure as a double bypass (CABG) of the left anterior descending artery. I was taken off the heart-lung bypass around 2:30 pm and the heart restarted. During checking homeostasis, the aortic root started bleeding and then ruptured and tore the ascending aorta. The surgeon had his finger in the hole for 5 minutes while I was put back on the heart and lung bypass. I lost about 3.5 liters of blood and had to have 17 units of blood. Dr. Jack Haney at Mayo Clinic wrapped things up around 10:00 pm and talked to my family at 10:30 pm. They had been waiting since 5:30am.

Fortunately, Dr. Haney and I had a discussion about the aortic root and ascending aorta which were at 4.8cm each and the various scenarios and I told him if it came to the root surgery I would like to try and save my aortic valve. We decided not to do that that day unless he had to go into the aorta to deal with the complex coronary fistula. However, he ended up doing a Bentall procedure. I don't have to have blood thinners other than asprin and IF the valve ever needs repair, it can be done via TEVAR. I spent 4 nights and 3 days in ICU followed by 5 in the cardiac step down unit at Mayo.

I was fortunate to be at the right place at the right time with the right surgeon. I had a catheter procedure done the week before open heart surgery to block off an artery that was part of the fistula using platinum coils. it was an aberrant bronchial artery that went from the descending aorta near the arch to the pulmonary artery. It would be difficult to access during open heart surgery. An angiogram on August 6th found the fistula system too extensive for intervention by catheter and discovered a 100% blockage in the mid-LAD. I met the Dr. Haney on Aug 12th, the aforementioned catheter procedure on Sep 4th, open heart surgery on Sep 10th. This odyssey began on July 22 with a CT scan with IV contrast and cardiac MRI with cardiologist Dr. Sabrina Phillips. I was there for a 2nd opinion on the aortic aneurysm. Ironically, had I not gone there, the fistula system and LAD may have taken me out by now if the RCA aneurysm didn't get me first.

I am very high on Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville and am very thankful for the Cardiologists Drs. Sabrina Phillips and Michael Gharacholuo, interventional radiologist Dr. Charles Ritchie and of course the cardiovascular surgeon Dr. Jack Haney and all their staffs.