Advice for upcoming myectomy?

I had my surgery on June 26th with Dr. Swistel at NYU. Of course, I was nervous, but thanks to the support from this group, along with friends, family, and colleagues, I’ve made it through so far very successfully.

Day of surgery: I went in around 7:30am, was back in my room by 1pm, in a chair by 3pm and walked about 50 feet with a PT by 5pm. I had no idea they would get me moving this quickly, but I think it made a big difference.

I didn’t tolerate the heavy-duty pain meds well—they dropped my blood pressure too much and made me nauseous—so by post-op day 1, I decided to stick with Tylenol. It was painful, especially with transitions, but doable. They promised things would feel much better once the chest tubes came out.

The chest tubes came out on day 2. Honestly, I didn’t notice a big difference in pain, but it was definitely easier to breathe when lying down. All the other lines came out that day too, except the pacing wires, which were removed on day 3. That was a weird sensation, but not really painful.

I went home on day 4—yesterday—and so far, so good. Today is day 5. I’m still stiff and moving slowly, but last night I had a great night’s sleep, and just like many of you promised, every day feels a bit better.

To anyone still waiting for surgery...I know it’s scary, but you’re stronger than you think, and you’re not alone in this. Trust your team, lean on your support system, and take it one day at a time. Every day truly does get a bit better. We’re all here cheering you on.

Thank you all for your encouragement and for sharing your experiences. It truly helped me prepare and stay hopeful through this.

Thanks for this, gregpt. Glad you are doing well.

My septal myectomy is scheduled for July 24. Reading about your and others' experiences is very helpful for my mental and practical preparedness.

Hello, I booked the Aspen across the street from St. Mary's so my husband could walk back and forth. I booked it for 10 days to accommodate my two days of testing before surgery and time in hospital after. It was perfect timing. I had surgery on a Wednesday and was released from hospital a day later than usual on Tuesday. Had my follow up appointment the next morning, checked out of hotel and headed back home. The hotel would have worked with us if we needed another night, they are used to working with hospital patients. As for the walking, I followed the advice of others and started doing leg and arm exercises and core exercises also. It paid off, I think. I was able to sit straight up in the bed the next day without help or using my hands and get out of the bed and walking with no problems. The nurses were quite surprised and pleased. I am 68 and active as far as I like to garden, tend to my flower beds, and I have livestock to feed and water a couple times a day.
Like others, I only had Tylenol for pain of which I really did not have any at all. I was surprised the I have not had any pain. I am three weeks out from surgery and doing great. I was really not given any restrictions other than no driving for 6-8 weeks. Otherwise, the dr. said do normal activities but try not to pull or push with arms extended. I asked about weight of things, and he said follow my body. If it hurts don't lift it, if it doesn't then fine. I have been slowly getting back into my routine, except feeding livestock. It is easy to get hurt by accident and I did go home on blood thinners due to a couple bouts of Atrial Fib while in hospital so I don't want to chance getting hurt. I have been cooking, sweeping, mopping, making the bed, laundry, gardening, watering my flowers, repotting some plants. I just watch my heart rate and sit if it gets high. I have not suffered from shortness of breath or fatigue. I can sleep on my side with no problems. Dr. said if it does not hurt, it is fine..no sleeping on stomach. I must admit, the nights are still long..I wake every couple hours and have to get up to go to the bathroom, I blame it on lingering Lasix, lol. Hopefully it will stop. I did take a Tylenol PM the other night and slept 5 hours straight..it was glorious. I don't want to rely on them, so I have not taken another. I am sure sleep will get better. I was up with coffee at 4:41 am this morning. Just could not go back to sleep. However, we do go to bed at 10 pm so I had enough rest. I like to take a morning nap which is new to me but since I have been getting up so early, at about 10 am, I get sort of dozy and want to sleep about an hour.
I could not have asked for a better experience. The scenario in my head was what scared me. Please read the posts, it is not as scary as you think. You will do fine. They are a great medical team from the drs. to the CNS. They know what they are doing and will talk you all the way though. I felt very comfortable with them, and they treated my husband well also. I look forward to healing and a better lifestyle and thank the Lord every day, for the great experience and my cardiologist referring me to Dr. Dearani and the Mayo Clinic in Rochester.

Hello, hope all is well with you and your surgery. Prayers you are healing and getting back to normal routines. I had mine on June 11 and it has been great. Sharon

Thanks Sharon,
Im 16 days out from surgery now
Healing is slow but im up to walking 1.5 miles with out stopping now, been slowly increasing distance without trying to do too much.
Have been some challenges
A few Fibulations have occurred should not be AFIB since it was isolated Mayo is concerned it could be vfib so they sent me a halter monitor good thing they only last about 5 minutes heart rate gets up to 162 BP falls 95/62
I had a ER visit 2 days ago because i had a different pain in left side of chest down to rib cage and up to traps ended ip being fluid on left side of lung
Told me to continue breathing deep and doing breathing exercises
Other than that im doing good
Moving faster not fast but faster:)
Have had two nights of decent sleep last two nights
Haven't slept well since surgery:)
Dr Dearani assured me i made the right decision:)

So glad to hear ykur doing great:)