Tatjana's Guestbook

Tatjana Seizova-Cajic  Hi Steven, thanks for thinking of me. Yes, I had the procedure on the 7th, a minimally invasive repair (non-robotic) with a very experienced and well-regarded surgeon (I live in Sydney and had it in a local hospital - Prince of Wales private -by dr Wolfenden). Strangely though, while I heard in various videos that minimally invasive is less painful, drs in the ICU have the impression that it is INITIALLY more painful.Hm. I take painkillers (Palexia and Panadol) but way less than the daily upper limit.

I may not be using this site too well, I posted an update in my guestbook yesterday morning Australia time, please have a look. In summary, it was tough going until day 3.
It’s day 5 today (day of surgery is day zero) and things are definitely getting better.
All the best in your search

Steven Applebauigh  Tatjana, Thank you so much for your response and sharing your experience so far. I will check out your guestbook update. To borrow from Adam Pick's book, "Keep on ticking!" ....and, continue with the journey to full recovery!  Warm regards, Steve

Klara Čičić  Minimally invasiveis more painful initially due to cutting soft tissues. Although I didn't have both to compare, I saw people around me who had open heart and could do much more than me and seemed to have less pain in those first days. I would say successful repair is the most important thing. A skilled surgeon. The approach is secondary. 

Tatjana Seizova-Cajic  Hi Kathy, yes, I forgot to say in my update that I was told during recovery that minimally invasive seems MORE painful immediately after than the chest bone surgery. More tissue inside is affected. But recovery is shorter. 

Tatjana Seizova-Cajic  Thanks a lot, Ruth! I am only getting into these posts now. It's great to have the community of people going through similar experiences.

Denise Pierce  Hi, Tatjana and Jan, I am currently waiting to hear from my surgeon after a recent TEE. I have moderately severe MV regurgitation (due to MV prolapse) and moderate Tricuspid valve regurgitation. I expect to be scheduled for surgery. Even though I walk regularly (3-5 miles) and even play pickleball, I get very tired when walking uphill and generally feel like it takes a lot more effort to do just about anything. I would love to hear more about your experiences as your stories unfold. I'm 60 and live in Michigan.

Tatjana Seizova-Cajic  Hi Jan and Denise, thanks for getting in touch and yes, it would be great y to o be in touch during recovery, Jan. 
About fatigue… I’ve been complaining about it for ages, but recently I noticed that during a normal walk, if I talk for some time,  I feel weak, possibly a bit dizzy. And I get waves of delayed exhaustion after exercise. The day after, sometimes. That may not be the heart though. 

Tatjana Seizova-Cajic  Thanks Denise and hi everyone. Time to check in, day 4 post surgery. The surgery was a success, surgeon said there is no leak. That’s the main thing, surely. Still, for me, it was tough, very tough, esp. days 0, 1  and 2. I am, like so many people, grateful to have had forewarnings of things to expect. Some details are below (warning: I’ll be frank and if you don’t want to read about suffering, maybe don’t…; on the bright side, from day 3, it has been much better):
Feeling awful with no energy to move and take my pills, unable to rest in the noisy ICU. Great nurses, very helpful, kind words. Good care overall except when some young doctors socialized quite loudly in doctor’s bay, oblivious to how it felt to us when trying to rest. Husband and sons visited on day 0, younger son admitted later I looked shocking. I heard everything and communicated a bit (played a few notes into my older son’s -pianist - hand; I’ve just learned those few before the surgery), and wrote on a piece of paper… about the breathing tube, which bothered me a lot and became so painful that I gulped and gagged, and emergency doctor told them he’d knock me out to rest. Hard night followed, unable to rest. Cried a lot on day 1 when my husband arrived and said the kids were not coming that day. I couldn’t believe it and said clearly that it makes me feel awful. They were very sorry and came in the afternoon… Atrial fibrillation on day 2 that made me nauseous and sweaty, lying flat and almost unable to talk. Drs explained that they’ll just observe bc I was going in and out of it and the heart rate wasn’t too high. So I learned that we just need to sail through sometimes. My blood pressure is also low so they didn’t want to increase a beta blocker too
much.

Tatjana Seizova-Cajic  My surgeon visited briefly on day 1: ‘it went well, no leak' (he is known to be a man of few words - and an excellent surgeon).
I got better later in the afternoon on day 2 and was transferred to the cardiac ward in the evening. Had very strong palpitations but felt ok, and they said I was out of A-fib most of day 3. Had a good day, all the tubes taken out (drainage x 2, catheter, neck injection points… I lost count! The one really yuck to watch was the wire from the heart… a normal thin wire, but seeing it pulled out and knowing it was in my heart was chilling!); older son thought it was a magnificent recovery - strong voice, eating a little, moving around. But as someone said, there'll be good days and bad days, and for now, I just hope that A-fib will not stay. I had it again throughout the night. We all know it's common.
little things help so much, like arranging the bed to make us as comfortable as possible. But patience is paramount, and keeping scary thoughts out of the way. It does get better!