Adam's Journal

Nancy Surprenant Takahashi  Hi Adam, I'm scheduled for the robotic surgery in April. Do you think the problem was they type of surgery or maybe you pushed yourself too quickly?

Adam Brown  I think I pushed it a little too much. Another (younger) patient that had my same procedure and surgeon posted that she ran 7 miles on her three week anniversary. I was thinking, “ That’s gonna be me.” But it was not to be.

I went back to work on my three week anniversary (desk job) and was still feeling nerve pain on skin around the incisions, but no breathing pain. So I prematurely thought I was in the clear, stopped all meds. I was walking three miles a day since day since day four. Listen to your doctor and team first, but if eager to get back to strenuous excercise or work, I’d now say give it a good 3-4 weeks of continued walking once you feel good.

Marie Myers  Everyone is So different in their reactions and recoveries. Gotta be patient, take it slow, and listen to your body. No comparing to other people...The whole recovery was a lesson in patience for me, which I did not appreciate at the time...

Kathy Blank  Adam- I had my Robotic MV Repair one year ago at age 60. I was able to run 3 miles prior to surgery and found that the hardest thing to get back was my cardio work outs. IWhen I started cardiac rehab at about 3 wks post op I was able to walk 6 miles at a decent clip but the cardio exertion for running or exertion on elliptical took much patience and perseverance. My main advice is to rule out any cardiac issue related to pain and then try and figure out what is causing the pain. I discovered that my auxiliary breathing muscles in my L neck was the culprit. I treated it like a muscle- soft tissue injury and had a Chiro treat it with myotherapy which I believe is myofascial release. Whenever I increased the lever of cardio exertion it would come back and I’d go back for more treatment. It took about a month for me to work through it but I kept at it and it went away. For athletes- the cardio takes SO long to get back but keep at it as long as you know the pain is not from a heart issue but more about your body recovering in general. When I think about them deflating a lung and then the difficulty I had getting my lung capacity back in the first few months it all made sense as I worked through the cardiac rehab! I am happy to say I ran a half marathon (slow pace but ran every step) one year post op!

Nancy Surprenant Takahashi  Thank you for your valuable information, your hands on experience is so helpful and very motivating. I'm sure you understand how scary it is.

Jim Harvey   A retired cardio surgeon I spoke with said "don't be a hero and try to out-do others by setting records for recovery." Probably good advice for all us type-A's out there. Make sure you are healed and heal properly. Why risk more pain or damage?

Barbara Wood  I had a full sternotomy & was told specifically not to use my elliptical for 6 weeks - he didn't like the push/pull arm movement. I'm back on it now but it took me some time to work up the nerve to use again! Best recovery wishes!

Bonnie Stone-Hope  Hello Adam,
I think it is normal for us to try to return to our pre-surgery state ASAP.
Glad to hear you are doing so well.

Victoria Baker  Hello All, I had robotic assisted mitral valve repair on June 18th, 2020. I had pain in my left shoulder and clavicle area that came and went. At times it was really severe pain. I was never on ibuprofen. I was told only Tylenol for some reason. That is why this platform is so valuable. I learned that many others had a similar pain and it was the result of the neck tube and scar tissue build up from that tube. Very, very common but no one ever mentioned I might have such a thing. Also, I felt so fortunate to have a mechanical bed. I am unsure how others could lie down flat after heart surgery. I couldn't lay flat for many, many weeks. I had to elevate my head area.

Lilly Black  Adam, that's fast! I wish you an even speedier recovery. The tubes are painful when pulled out! all the best!

Rose Madura  Glad you are doing so well. Removal of chest tubes hurt but only for a couple of seconds. Once out, it felt so much better. Kind of like ripping off a band aid really fast...... :)

JJ Milton  HI Adam, I had robotic mitral valve repair. I guess the main reason was that I was referred to a surgeon who was the head of the robotic cardiac surgery division ( for lack of a better title). He said if everything checked out, that would be the way to go. He said there is less trauma, quicker recovery, etc. I had the surgery April 13th, 2016, so it has been a year and a half. I have worked out for the better part of 30 years. It took me longer to get back than I had hoped. The recovery was more difficult than what I read from a number of sources. I really would not be able to tell you what procedure is better. My doctor was Dr. Robert Smith out of the Baylor Heart Hospital in Plano, TX. Sorry I couldn't be or more help.

Rose Madura  Hi Adam. Welcome to the site. I was not given a choice for robotic so had traditional OHS. I did have a hysterectomy robotically with a very easy recovery compared to others who had it done traditional method. Hope this helps. Keep us posted.

JJ Milton  Adam, Here is the link to a video with my surgeon talking about robotic surgery. Hope this helps. https://www.heart-valve-surgery.com/hospital/the-heart-hospital-baylor-plano#surgeon-video

Vanessa Corwin  I had MVR at Columbia Presbyterian in NYC. They used the minimally invasive approach, (they make several small incisions on the side) & my surgery was quite successful.You may want to investigate that approach.

Jim Stutler  Adam,
I was set for minimal invasive mitral valve repair until results of cath showed enough blockage to warrant a single bypass and hence - full sternotomy to do both. As far as being active, i think you will be amazed at how fast you get back to full (or better) performance. Like you, my murmur was discovered at a physical, having very few symptoms. At 4 months post op, I am hiking and climbing and feel better than I have in a long time. Plus, I have a few years on you. You will do great, robotic or full ohs. Best of luck!

Kathy Blank  Dr Robert Smith also performed my robotic MV Repair 2.8.17 and I was able to start running 2 mos post op with the help of cardiac rehab. I have a detailed journal describing my preparation for surgery and recovery at age 60. Went to 2 cardiologists and 3 surgical consults before opting for robotic surgery. Glad I did research and thankful for very experienced surgeon who clearly identified my posterior leaflet issue and helped me avoid unnecessary testing and reassured me that robotic surgery was effective procedure to fix my valve. Use this site to do your research. J Milton is right- recovery takes time and patience and hard work for getting back to full prevsurgery fitness level. Best wishes on your research and full recovery!

Adam Brown  Thanks all for your comments. JJ, your experience very relevant and greatly appreciated. I saw Dr. Balkhy at University of Chicago Medicine yesterday. I was very impressed. Of course, he said I am a perfect candidate for the robotic approach that he majors in - I would expect that. He was also "fair and balanced", saying that there are incredibly talented surgeons that do perfect repairs with OHS, but he's confident in his ability and track record to get an equally quality result. He said (paraphrasing), "If you don't do this here, go to Mayo, Cleveland or another place for robotic - it's just no longer necessary (for this MVR) to have your chest cut open."

As of this writing, I'm 95% sure I'll take this approach.

Adam Brown  Very encouraging stories Kathy and Jim - thanks! I'm grateful I have the option.

Yes, I'm already out of shape having done my last 25 mile mountain bike ride 3 weeks ago. Ha! No doubt, it will take some time to bet back in shape. And that's not all to blame on surgery 1 Anyone who "rests" for 3 months is going to have work hard to get back into the kind of shape you and I want to be in. It seems almost counter-intuitive that I "need" this since I was still so active just a short while ago, but I was feeling like my workouts where 1 step forward, 1 step back, Last two weeks, I get winded from small things, so no time like the present.

Bonnie Stone-Hope  Hello Adam, my surgeon has not given me a choice.

Will have mitral valve repair/replacement on November 29th. Similar to you, until family physician randomly noticed my heart murmur in late August, had NO idea of any heart problem, still do not have any symptoms!

Jim Stutler  Adam, just do the best you can as far as staying in shape prior to surgery. As you have heard, it will help you in so many ways both during and after. Given your background, you are way ahead of the game. Again, eventually you will be amazed at how good you feel on "the other side"!

Phyllis Petersen  Hi Adam, I had mitral valve repair by Dr. Gillinov at Cleveland Clinic 10/13/16. I travelled from Tucson specifically because I wanted it done this way and knew I was a good candidate. The initial pain was bad, but I was cleared for driving and cardiac rehab about 3 weeks after leaving the hospital. I went in for surgery on Thursday and was out on Monday, and had been able to take a shower at the hospital on Sunday. Whichever way you go, do try to get into cardiac rehab. Because of the monitoring, you'll be able to push harder than you might on your own, while knowing that adjustments will be made if necessary. I started intervals pretty early on and was doing some resistance right from the start. They had to bring my rest segment lower when my blood pressure and heart rate stopped cooperating (I think that was after I went off metoprolol), which allowed me to continue to progress while knowing I was safe. By the end of the 36 sessions, I was pretty close to the same weights I was doing before surgery and had improved tremendously on cardio. Good luck on your journey!