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Thoracic aortic aneurysm: Anyone had surgery?
I was born with a hole in my heart and have had 2 surgeries. One to fix hole and the other a valve replacement. I've been recently told the I have a thoracic aneurysm and possibly will need more surgery.. Anyone gone th ru this before??
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I'm doing fine. I never had cardiac rehab as Medicare would not cover it because my aorta replacement did not go inside the heart, it was on the curve. Think it's a strange decision as I was in open heart surgery for 10 hours. Tried contacting different sources but found no assistance regarding the lack of Medicare coverage. Broke my ankle hiking by falling into a nest of some kind covered by grasses. Hoping to start pulmonary function rehab soon as breathing has been an issue lately but I did go into my surgery with COPD to start with so am assuming this is not unusual. Onward and upward, can barely wait until I can start aoerbics again, missing the exercise classes so much.
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1 ReactionWelcome back @morninglory. How are you doing? How did the cardiac rehab go?
Your words so true.......I had all the confidence possible in Dr. Pochettino and my fractured ankle has caused me more problems than the aortic surgery! I'm 78 and came thru the surgery just fine, friends and relatives were amazed. Mayo nurses are wonderful. Was replying to the gentleman that stated how proficient the Mayo teams are in getting you back into a normal life.
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1 ReactionOnce you have the surgery are we more at risk for more aneurysms? Is there any info on how long the replacement lasts?
Thanks. Very reassuring.
With your overall good health, I would think your experience would be similar to mine. I was 72 years old at the time and had fairly good health.
I had surgery at Mayo in May, 2016. Had aneurysm repair and total arch replacement. All in all it was much less bad than I imagined. Surgery lasted for 6 hours, in ICU, I am told for 2 days-don't remember much about that. Then in hospital for a total of 8 nights. Recovery went very well. Mayo gives pain meds if you need them and great care from kind and caring nurses. Looking back on the surgery, I never doubted it would be successful. From Mayo, I went directly home, about 500 miles away and haven't looked back. No problems at home and then went to rehab. Good luck to you and hope you will have an easy recovery. I have such great faith in Mayo which gave me lots of confidence in the outcome.
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1 ReactionThanks. Looks like you went thru a lot. I am keeping my fingers crossed.
Hello,
My first surgery was 1978 Montefura(sp) in New York City(We lived upstate New York, why I ended up there. I was 13 years old. Have no idea the procedure time, I was in the hospital for about 1.5 weeks.
My 2nd surgery was 2005, Memorial Herman, Houston Texas. Live ~200 miles away and the Cardiac Center has lots of recognition. I was lucky to be near well qualified help. My age was 49 years old. Surgery was about 5 hours, in Cardiac ICU for 2 days, and Cardiac Recovery for 18 days. First two days was like learning how to live again. I was cut radially following the rib-line, and one rib was removed permanently to allow the dr. sufficient room for doing the aneurysm repair. When they opened me up it was one big matted mess of scar tissue and organs. This was probably the major time consumer. The delta between the first surgery in 1978 and then allowed my body to grow lots of scar tissue. The extended stay at the hospital was due to my chest drainage not letting up. I had lots of incisions inside of me and they were all draining. This was not normal. I would think this would be different for you.
Couldn't eat or swallow for 7 days after the surgery. Had me on TPN(Total Parental Nutrition) IV and I was never hungry. Wish I had an IV of that stuff at home for long movies like Dances With Wolves!
This surgery was the single most difficult task I have accomplished in my life.
Keep your chin up.
Sincerely,
Bruce
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1 ReactionThanks for your detailed response. Very helpful Couple of quick questions , if u don't mind.
Where did u have your surgery and how long was it? How was the Post Op and how long was your total stay in hospital? Thanks again for your very helpful response. Will keep my fingers crossed re my surgery.