Larry's Journal

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 friends- I need a little advice. I had an aortic valve replacement and ascending aorta graft last November 30, and will have my 1 year echo in a couple of weeks. I am currently on vacation in California and Arizona for the next ten days or so (I live in Wisconsin and my valve replacement was at the Univ of Wisconsin hospital). While on vacation, I have come down with a bad cold or flu with congestion, coughing, poor sleep, etc. Covid tests are negative. Seems pretty normal, but here's what I need advice on: my ankles are abnormally swollen and showing signs of edema. Do I need to go to urgent care or ER out here in CA to get my heart valve checked out? I hate to go in with just a bad cold, but if the edema is a sign of some valve complication, I need to be seen. What do you guys think?

Hi everyone - 4 weeks post-op (tissue AOV and AO Aneurysm repair) for me today. Things are going pretty well, walking easily and climbing stairs multiple times each day. Going to try driving today or tomorrow. Incision is largely healed. Still sleeping in recliner because getting out of bed is kind of like a walrus rolling off the ice shelf...

Wondering if any of you had problems with pinched nerves after surgery- my left outer thigh was numb immediately after surgery and now has shooting pain and burning sensation at night. Wakes me up a lot. Anyone experience something like this and did it resolve? Surgeons office is not too interested - they said to use ice or heat and see my family doc about it. Surgeon's PA's say it usually resolves in a few months. But I need better sleep! Thanks for any insight.

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...

Winding down the items on my to do list and getting ready for a quiet evening at home before my 7AM surgery at the University of Wisconsin University Hospital tomorrow. Good luck to Sharon, Edward, Joseph, and anybody else that is up tomorrow! Jan Findlay, hope things went well for you today!

Hi folks - I had my pre-op appointment at the University of Wisconsin hospital yesterday, and everything is a go for my aortic valve replacement and aneurysm repair on November 30. Choosing an Inspiris Resilia tissue valve. One question for those of you who are post-surgery: How soon did you feel comfortable sitting in an office chair and using a computer? Did you compromise by using your phone or a small laptop while seated in a recliner or bed?

Just had my latest CT scan three days ago. My echocardiogram from a month ago showed an increase in the diameter of my aortic aneurysm from 4.7 to 5.4, which seemed pretty dramatic and alarming. Well, folks, don't get to uptight about echo measurements; my CT said the aortic aneurysm was unchanged from six months ago at 4.7cm. Whew! Still needs fixing when they do my valve, but not likely to explode in the next few weeks. On to my anaesthesiology consult on Nov 9 and my preop appointments on Nov 15.

One more step completed before surgery on Nov. 30. Had an abcess on one of my teeth that needed treatment before the dentist would clear me for surgery. Scheduled a root canal with the endodontist, who found a crack in the root and could not complete the root canal and had to extract the tooth. So I am now down one tooth and missing $1500 from my wallet. Had to be done, though, don't want any infection migrating to my new valve.

I'm a coffee drinker - 2-3 cups per day. What's the current thinking about caffeine after valve surgery? I may need to taper my coffee drinking off prior to surgery if it is not allowed for an extended period. Don't need caffeine withdrawal headaches on top of post-surgery recovery. Thanks -

I had my dental clearance visit yesterday, and was told I have an abcess in one of my bicuspids and will need either root canal or extraction. I am scheduled for a root canal next week; feels pretty odd that a root canal treatment seems like a minor preparatory procedure! My surgeon says as long as the dental work is completed two weeks prior to surgery it will have no impact on the valve replacement.

My aortic valve replacement and aortic aneurysm repair is now scheduled for November 30 in Madison, WI. Just had my cardiac catheterization procedure two days ago and all the arteries were clear. Cath doc said he hoped his were as clean as mine when he reaches 67. So I must be doing something right!