Deepika's Journal

Adam Pick  Hi Deepika, Great to have you here in our community! As a Ross Procedure patient, there are lots of resources to help you learn more about the Ross.  Fyi, I had my Ross all the way back in 2005. I'll post some links below to help you!

Deepika Malhotra  Thanks so much Adam. I cannot thank you and this community enough for the wealth of information and support that I've been able to garner here. If I make it successfully to the other side (which I am positive I will), I would love to join you and this community to help others who will walk this path. Congratulations on your 19th anniversary. So great to see how far you've come ! Fills my heart with hope and optimism. 

Andrea Babcock  Sending best wishes for your upcoming surgery Deepika! I hope everything goes very well! I hope it will go as well as my husband's surgery and recovery. I know you must be very scared right now, we were before the surgery and shortly after but after the surgery every day will get better and better. My husband was able to travel to Germany and Greece on vacation only 3 month after his surgery and did a couple small hikes prior to that. You got this!! He is now 11 month after surgery and doing really good.

Rose Madura  Welcome Deepika.  You will find this site very encouraging and helpful.  There are aew several who had the Ross Procedure including our wonderful Adam! I'm sure they will chime in.  

Darrell Malone  Hello Deepika. I had my Ross April of this year. I'd say to stay active as you can before your surgery.  Stay positive as there will be some ups and downs but mostly up. Listen to your body is a popular one. All the best with your heart journey. 

Allen Carkner  I’m a Ross procedure patient. Approaching 2 years post op. My heart feels great. Ask if you have any questions.

Trisha Gross  I just complete the Ross Aug 22nd. 4 months in recovery!  Did you have symptoms? Happy to share my experience. 

Deepika Malhotra  Thanks so much everyone. I would love any suggestions on what I can do to prepare for recovery. 

Are there things that I should perhaps purchase in advance? Also, would be curious to learn how difficult it is to kill time lying in bed?

Marcus Krauss  If you don't already have a digital blood pressure monitor, you'll need one of those, as your Dr. will want you to start monitoring and recording your BP when you get home. OMRON is a good brand. I also found it helpful to buy one of those big foam wedge pillows for your bed. Lying down completely flat will be uncomfortable for a while, so having that to elevate your torso will be more comfortable. I found it also helped me from rolling on my side when sleeping, because I'm naturally a side sleeper. Some folks here have also found heating pads helpful, particularly for some of the shoulder and upper back muscle soreness you may experience. You can find all of these items on Amazon. Being in bed all day can get boring, so if you have a comfortable couch or easy chair you can set those up with pillows to have a nice place to relax outside the bedroom. After the first week, when you're back at home, I think you'll find that you're fairly mobile around the house. Your care team will also want you going on walks several times a day, so I don't think you'll need to worry about killing time in bed all day unless there's some other issue that' impacting your mobility. It's definitely a lot, but you should improve really quickly week to week.

Grace Mason   I agree with Darrell, definitely prepare physically, it will be your greatest asset post surgery. I recommend doing squats and any exercises that strengthen your core muscles before surgery to prep your legs to do the lifting while you observe sternal precautions post surgery. Actually, I would recommend practicing getting up from chairs and toilet without using your arms before surgery. I purchased an adjustable bed before surgery, though many use a recliner. It was great post surgery for sleeping comfortably.
Expect shoulder and back pain post surgery and have some relief on hand. I used heat pad and a roll on numbing gel that helped a lot. 
Initially, it sounds far fetched after such a major surgery, but you probably won't have a lot of bed time post surgery, barring complications. You should be up and walking within 48 hours or less and when you are laying down you will likely be asleep or too tired to do anything but watch some Netflix or other light entertainment.
Like Marcus, I recommend the Omron BP monitor.
Eat a lot of protein, your body will need lots post surgery. My throat was also very sore for several weeks post surgery from being intubated. My husband brought me protein smoothies in the hospital which were great on my throat and helped me keep up my protein early on. Numbing lozenges were also extremely helpful.
I purchased some light compression socks to wear post surgery. I used when traveling or sitting for periods of time and for a few weeks after surgery to improve circulation to my legs and feet.
I returned to work part-time at 10 weeks and full time at twelve, not rushing myself back.

Deepika Malhotra  Thanks so much Grace and Marcus for the detailed response. Very helpful. I do have a BP monitor at home but will work on the rest. 

Allen Carkner  Careful about the exercise pre-op. Yes it is good to be as fit as you can prior to surgery but depending on the severity of your valve disease, vigorous exercise can be unsafe. I for example had a canceled stress echo after barely walking briskly because they were concerned with my decreased blood pressure. They wanted me only doing very low intensity exercise after I’d had that test. Be sure to follow the waiting period advice of your surgeon or cardiologist.

Rose Madura  Good advice from Allen.  My case was severe and my cardiologist encouraged me to walk only flat surfaces (like at the grocery store) until the surgery.  

Deepika Malhotra  Thanks Allen , Rose. I have been advised to walk on flat surface and limit to walking as well. I have started to experience more irregular heartbeats and so been mindful of how much I exert myself.