Patients and caregivers often ask me about the immediate, post-op experience in the intensive care unit. Common questions include:

• How long were you in the intensive care unit?
• Did you experience pain immediately?
• Was your family allowed in the ICU area?
• How many tubes were sticking out of you when you woke up?

However, one of more common questions I get is, “How did you feel as you came out of general anesthesia?” Honestly, I don’t remember much – just bits and pieces of the first few hours after surgery. But, lucky for me, my family has clued me in on the strange experience of waking up after heart surgery with a ventilator tube, Foley catheter and several other tubes still inserted in my body.

On this topic, I just read that the video below was one of YouTube’s Top 10 Videos of 2009. The video titled “David After Dentist” has been watched over 37 million times this year. It’s not an exact match to the experience of waking up after heart surgery but I think you might find some silly and honest humor as little David talks candidly with his father after dental surgery.

Please remember, each patient case is unique. Just because David was a tad loopy after his surgery, that does not mean you will have the same experience.

Keep on tickin!

Alice just sent me a great question about incision and scar care after heart valve surgery.

She writes, “Adam, I am 55 and had open heart surgery to replace my valve about three weeks ago. Most of my scar looks OK, flat and thin.  My concern is the top of the scar — around and above the top of the incision is a big protruding lump.  It is soft, not hard, and is not sore. Did this happen to you? Thanks, Alice”

Patient Incision After Heart Valve Surgery

Alice’s question just brought back a distinct memory from my early recovery. Like Alice, I also had a bump at the top of my incision. It wasn’t very noticeable but I questioned Dr. Starnes, my surgeon, about the bump during my surgical follow-up.

Dr. Starnes assured me that the bump was completely normal and that the swelling would go down. As you can see in the picture above, there is a raised bump at the top of the patient’s scar.

Well, Dr. Starnes was right. In a few weeks, the swelling went down and then… disappeared. Now, you can barely even tell I had open heart surgery.

Two Years After Surgery… My Scar Fades

I hope this helps Alice (and perhaps you) learn more about incision healing – especially bumps at the top of the scar.

Keep on tickin!

Considering the recent Swine Flu outbreak, I’ve received several emails about flu shots and heart valve surgery.

I just opened a note from Jackie that reads, “Hi Adam – I recently had mitral valve replacement with a pig valve due to severe regurgitation. I’m curious to know if there is any reason I should not get a flu shot or an H1N1 vaccine? Thanks! Jackie”

As I really do not like being sick, I’ve always been a flu shot fan. However, after my heart valve replacement surgery, I found myself wondering, “Could a flu shot cause some form of complication after open heart surgery?”

To answer that question, I contacted my surgeon. In discussing this topic with Doctor Starnes’ office, I learned there were no apparent issues for patients getting flu shots after heart valve surgery.

However, with the new Swine Flu vaccine, I found myself thinking, “Is it safe to get the H1N1 vaccine?”

This time, I decided to contact Dr. Eric Roselli, M.D., staff surgeon at The Cleveland Clinic, to learn more about swine flu and heart surgery patients. In response, Dr. Roselli noted, “According to our infectious disease specialist, the vaccine should be fine.”

As of Friday, 16.1 million doses of swine flu vaccine were ready for shipping, and over 11 million doses had been sent out to state health authorities.

You should know that the symptoms of swine flu and seasonal flu are very similar. According to MedicineNet, the symptoms are virtually the same — fever, cough, sore throat, runny or stuffy nose, body aches, headache, and chills. Yet, experts say that swine flu is more contagious, and seems to affects a younger age group.

I hope this helps you learn more about flu shots, the swine flu vaccine and heart valve surgery.

Keep on tickin!

I just received a set of emails from Robin about a metallic taste in her mouth after heart valve surgery. So you know, Robin is not the only patient to send me questions about this strange, surgical after taste.

In his first email, Robin writes, “Ever since my aortic valve replacement surgery I have had a nasty metallic taste in my mouth.  It gets especially bad if I eat anything sweet. The cardiologist theorizes that it is a by product of the heart-lung machine. Anybody else experience it? Anybody have any ideas of how to get rid of it? Thanks, Robin”

Then, I received a follow-up note from Robin with a short-term remedy to this issue.

Here is what Robin writes, “Since I last wrote to you I found a website that suggested gargling with water and a 1/4 tsp of baking soda.  It worked!!!  It brought relief at least for a few hours.  Ultimately, the bad taste did go away on its own, but the baking soda gets a great assist. Robin”

Thanks Robin for sharing your remedy!

Keep on tickin!

Given the recent post about endocarditis, swine flu and heart valves, I’ve received several emails about these topics. Laura just sent me an interesting question asking for your help about dental cleanings, gum bleeding and atrial fibrilation.

Laura writes, “Hi Adam, I had double valve replacement surgery a little over a year ago and have been feeling very good. Then, I went to the dentist for my routine cleaning. I took my usual prophylactic antibiotics. My gums bled almost all day because of the Coumadin. Then, I started getting irregular beats that feel like borderline atrial fibrillation (a-fib). This happened to me six months ago as well. It took about 10 days for it to go away. Has anybody else had this experience? What can I do about it? Thanks, Laura”

Unlike Laura, I did not experience the complications referenced above. That said, I was hoping you might be able to help her. If you experienced issues with gum bleeding and a-fib after heart valve replacement or heart valve repair surgery, could you help her by leaving a comment? To do so, simply click here.

In advance, thanks for sharing your thoughts with Laura.

Keep on tickin!