Larry's Photos

Yesterday was my two year anniversary of my SAVR aortic valve replacement and aortic aneurysm repair at the University of Wisconsin hospital in Madison, WI. I've lost 55 pounds (on purpose!) and am chasing grand-kids and riding my motorcycles. Thanks again to this community for getting me through my surgery and recovery!

Hello my friends-

Time for me to report on my one year anniversary of my aortic valve replacement and aortic aneurysm repair (done at the University Hospital in Madison, WI). I just had my 1yr echocardiogram, and the Edwards Inspiris bovine valve is doing fine. A couple of other surprises, however - left atrium is severely dilated (was moderately dilated a year ago) and my ejection fraction has decreased from 65% to 55% (which I understand is still in the normal range). My PA-C says neither issue is something we need to treat - dilation of left atrium can be a result of many factors (age, blood pressure, genetics, afib, etc). I see the cardiologist in April.

So- here are a few things that I have experienced in the year following my surgery:

1) Sleep continues to be a different adventure - after sleeping in a recliner for a couple of months following surgery, my body has decided it likes recliners better than beds. I used to be a side sleeper, and that doesn't seem to work well any more, and I have trouble falling asleep on my back. I go back and forth, and traveling is harder than it used to be with strange beds.

2) The ten weeks of not using my upper body muscles exacerbated a lower back problem and I have struggled with some periods of significant sciatica and piriformis nerve pain. Chiropractic did not help, but I began treatment with an osteopathic doctor (MD) and she helped me immensely. She said the lower back spinal issue gets the muscles around it all fired up and tense, and they cause the nerve pain. She does OMT (osteopathic manipulation treatments) to get the spine, pelvis, and hip joints aligned properly and to increase range of motion. Right now I'm good, and doing lots of stretching each morning.

3) Otherwise, energy is good and I'm able to walk 3-4 miles without stopping if my back behaves. Chasing my twin 4yo granddaughters around is a great joy.

Thank you all for the community you have built here!

Larry (Lars) Peterson

P.S. The attached photo was taken on a recent trip to San Diego - Wisconsin does not look like this in November...

Hello my friends- I am one week post surgery and it's time to do a short update. My AOV replacement and AO Aneurysm repair was completed on November 30, 2023 at the University of Wisconsin University Hospital in Madison, WI. Surgery was roughly 7AM to 2PM, and was normal with no surprises. My surgeon is Dr. Andreas de Biasi; he was awesome.

I spent about 1 day in ICU status. Breathing tube came out a couple of hours after surgery (I barely remember it). Had a great ICU nurse that first night. Biggest problem in this stage was that they needed to do a swallowing test before I could drink fluids and have oral medications. But the unit that does the swallow test does not open back up until the next morning! So my first night was spent with icewater swabs provided by my nurse and IV meds. The next day the swallow test person showed up right at 8:30AM, very apologetic and nice lady. Not clear to me why the RN's couldn't do the test the night before.

At UW hospital, they step you down out of ICU status but leave you in the same room. On Friday (Day One) I took four walks around the critical care unit, and everybody said my mobility was great. On Saturday, I went into Afib and remained there while they hung multiple IV boluses of amiodarone to try to knock me back into sinus rythm. Finally late Sunday afternoon I converted back into normal sinus rythym. The nurses said I needed to be back in sinus for 24 hours before being released, so it was a likely late Monday or early Tuesday release.

On Monday, after all of the OT and PT visits, removal of chest drains, removal of three or four IV sites and disconnection of the wound incision vacuum pump, Dr. de Biasi recommended release late in the afternoon.

So here I am, sorting out my medications and arranging my new nest in my fancy recliner. A recommendation: if you are getting a power recliner, get one with separate controls for head, back, and feet and an easy to find remote. I have found that I didn't need a power lift chair; if I lower the back and feet to the zero position, I can easily slide off the front of the chair and onto my legs without using my arms. Getting in out of a normal bed is another matter altogether; that's going to take a while.

My apologies; that was more than a short update. All the best to my heart warrior friends!

Lars

Flawless aortic valve replacement with a bovine tissue valve and aortic aneurysm repair on Thursday Nov 30 at University of Wisconsin University Hospital.  Good day yesterday with 3 walks, sat in recliner most of thh day, and my first cup of coffee!  Outran my pain meds however and felt pretty crappy about 4pm.  We'll see how today goes.  Thanks to all you great folks for the support you have goven me!  P.S My wife thought I should look more nordic for my first photo...