Charles's Posts

Hello again from the other side. Luckily, I was part of the 98%. Made it thru the surgery this past Friday fine. The wait was worse, and glad it is over. Recovery so far is going well, even better than last time. And I had a full sternotomy this time vs. mini-sternotomy "keyhole" last time in 2013. Then, my enlarged ascending aorta was replaced with Dacron graft. Now the unicuspid valve, which was diagnosed as severely stenotic with calcification, was very heavily calcified. Currently on day 4 and very minimal pain. Just acetaminophen for past 2 days. Fentanyl for ICU was effective but short lived and with wild side effects. Hallucinations, go from chills/shaking to sweats even though temp was normal. Guess I don't have to worry about becoming an addict! Surgery done at Cleveland Clinic by Dr. Lars Svensson (same as first surgery). Was in ICU for 2 days which is minimum protocol now. Had 4 drain tubes vs. 2 last time. That part sucks when they remove the tubes, although feels better when out. Was walking on day 2 in ICU. They said I could have been released today due to my recovery, but have to wait for INR level to drop before heart wires can be removed. So, probably Thursday with wire removal tomorrow. The valve. So, as I mentioned in a previous post I spoke with surgeon right before surgery and left the final decision to him as to which specific valve would be best for my anatomy. So even though he was a SJM proponent and I thought we were going in that direction……he sized both brands and determined that the On-X was best for me. So, I now have a 23mm On-X. I'm fine with that as it was my first or initial choice. I believe they are very similar with minimal unique characteristics. Valve noise: I can't really hear it, and I have very sensitive hearing. It was even hard using the stethoscope. It is very muffled. I'm wondering if the Dacron graft combined with the chest muscle are noise suppressing. Thanks for all of the very helpful information. A final comment. I strongly recommend the Cleveland Clinic for any heart related issue. Simply the best. I noticed improvements in the process since 2013.