After doing research regarding minimally invasive mitral valve surgery, I elected to have my valve repaired using Da Vinci Robotics. All my research indicated there would be less recovery time, less chance of infection, shorter hospital stay, etc. My cardiologist highly recommended the minimally invasive option as well. I’m 41 healthy/fit, and a yoga instructor.
I was told I would be in the hospital 3-5 days and would recover quickly. I had my valve surgery on September 8, 2008. During surgery, my aortic valve was punctured. The surgeon patched it however, it did not hold. I was on the heart/lung machine for 3hrs.55min. and did not wake up for 2 days. During surgery a blood clot possibly from the puncture? caused me to have a mild stroke. Therefore when I woke from surgery, I could not move. I was able to use my right side w/in a couple of days but, my left side did not function. After 12 days in the hospital, I went home and had occupational as well as physical therapy in my home 3x a week. So, here it is almost 3 months later. I have made significant improvements but still have difficulties w/ my left arm and hand shaking and twitching. I’m having an echo done every 6 weeks to check on my leaking aortic valve. I’m told it is a moderate leak and won’t need surgery for a long time if at all. I think my experience is an unusual one but, I would like to know how this could have happened and if this has happened to others?
Thanks for having an informative an uplifting site.
Warm Regards,
Karen Dove-Essenmacher
Chesapeake, VA