Anita's Profile

My first open heart surgery was in April 2012. I had my mitral and tricuspid valves repaired at Sutter Memorial Hospital in Sacramento, CA. Now after almost five years I was back to the hospital for a tricuspid valve replacement. My second open heart surgery was done at the Mayo Clinic in Florida. We move here from California in June, 2012. The surgery was a success, and I was released after 8 days. But I was retaining too much water. My legs were really swollen so my home nurse called my doctor and I was given an extra dose of lasix and potassium for five days. It did not work. When I went to my cardiologist, he gave me another kind of diuretic to complement my lasix for also five days. After a couple of days, the swelling was gone, and my legs were back to normal. But my doctor, after an x-ray was taken, found that the lower left lobe of my lungs is accumulating some fluid so he recommend a thoracentesis. Now I am waiting for my surgeon to tell me what to do. I need extra precautions because I have other health problems besides my heart problem. I also have a mild cirrhosis of the liver.