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Why does it take so long for Septal Myectomy surgery to be scheduled?
Met with the Surgeon last Wednesday, June 24th. He went over the surgery, told me that the scheduler would call me on Friday or Monday, the 29th. Told me about a video call from him before the surgery as well as a consultation by the anesthesiologist. He told me on the following Thursday that he wanted a clearance letter from my oncologist which he got last Friday afternoon. Spoke with the scheduler yesterday, and he said that they would be calling me today. Not sure why, but it just seems like they’re dragging their feet, which makes me wonder if when they call, they schedule me, that it would a long time out like several weeks. It’s so frustrating to me.
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Hello @dconner,
I'm sorry you are feeling so frustrated about your upcoming surgery. I have been there before, and although I was not frustrated, I was definitely anxious about it!
It sounds to me like things are taking time to fall into place so that all goes well.
Since we cannot see what is going on in the departments that are coordinating to make things happen for you...we can wonder if all is going smoothly. It took 3 months for my septal myectomy to be scheduled after all the players were in place. I don't know if that is the norm, but that was my experience.
Where is your septal myectomy scheduled?
If it is the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, you should have access to your Patient Portal. That is where you can go the ask questions and get answers from the HCM team.
I would try and trust the process. Scheduling surgeries has a lot of moving pieces, and unless it is an emergency or urgent, they can take some time to find the perfect day and hour.
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3 Reactions@karukgirl finally got the surgery date today. It’s July 17. Will be here in a couple of weeks.
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3 Reactions@dconner, well there you go!
Whew!!!
Now you have a date to focus on.
But WOWZA!!
That is coming up FAST!!!
I posted on Connect a "little" story about my open heart surgery journey at Mayo Clinic.
I don't know if you read it... if even ONE thing helps you then I am happy. Here is a link to that:
https://connect.mayoclinic.org/discussion/what-i-learned-from-my-open-heart-surgery-part-1/
@dconner ,
Not to put more on your plate, but here is Part 2:
https://connect.mayoclinic.org/comment/1257983/
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1 Reaction@karukgirl yes I did read it. It was very interesting. You’re right, it is coming up fast. On top of my heart problems, I have hip and lower back pain, sometimes very severe. I’m told from a spine surgeon that I need lower back fusion surgery and I also need arthroscopic surgery on both hips to repair tears. I could hardly walk yesterday, my right hip was hurting so bad. I’m sure all of this is going to make my recuperation very difficult.
@dconner Hooray! Hooray! July 17th! Yes, it takes a while to get everything scheduled, I had 2 days of tests and interviews before surgery, took from late Feb to May to get dates. Debra's story is truly helpful as are the other stories in "What I Learned From My Open Heart Surgery. " We are all different and our open-heart experiences are as well. BTW, Are you going to Mayo? While you are recuperating, I will be celebrating the 4th anniversary of my septal myectomy at Mayo on July 21st. Wishing that you heal quickly so that the spine and hip issues can be addressed. Keep us in your loop.
I’m having my surgery at Emory University Medical Center in Atlanta.
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1 Reaction@dconner Hooray! Emory is a COE according to the Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy Association, lots of HCM experts will be overseeing your care. We would love to hear updates during your upcoming journey.