Lisa's Guestbook

George Gardopee  Lisa - from my perspective (and from the accounts I have been reading on this site over the last two years) I would have to agree with Klara, Deena, and Angela.  Before my surgery I was convinced I wanted a minimally-invasive (MI) robotic surgery. I even postponed having the work done while looking for a surgeon who would attempt it. In the end I had to have the sternotomy and I am very glad I did. I had very little discomfort after surgery and almost none at all within a few days.  By the third day after surgery, I needed only Tylenol.  Also, once he was in there, the surgeon saw that my tricuspid valve needed work and if he had gone the MI route he could not have fixed it at the same time. 

 If you read many people’s journals here, most will say that the sternotomy was not painful or troublesome. In my own case I felt nothing but fatigue after a few days. I believe I’ve read more accounts from people who had minimally-invasive surgeries that talk of residual pain or discomfort, motion restriction, and numbness for months after surgery than I have of people with problems relating to sternotomies.  That being said, there are people who had great success with the MI or mini thoracotomy approaches. The promotion around the MI surgery speaks about quicker recovery (for example, 2 weeks vs 6-8 weeks for a sternotomy) but I believe the main difference is related to the longer period of time during which the sternum has to heal before you can lift weights heavier than 5 or 10 pounds.  In my case I forgot about my sternum and I yanked on a stuck door 3 weeks after surgery. It was a little sore for a few days but it did no damage.  Luckily for me I am retired so I had no physically-demanding job to return to, so the 6-8 weeks of restriction were not an issue.  I can see the attraction of the MI surgery if one needed to get back to a physical occupation. If you have plate closure you may have little in the way of restrictions or at least not for as long.  There are some videos available on this site from Dr. Gerdish, I believe, that talk about the faster recovery with plate closure. 

There are other complications from heart surgery (afib, pericarditis, pleural effusion, etc.) that many here have experienced but they are not related to the method of entry, so it’s not like one can avoid these things by having MI surgery. Good luck with your upcoming surgery. I’ll bet you’ll find the sternotomy to be a minor issue. 
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