mike's Journal

9 Days since valve surgery 10-28-16. Amazing journey. Don't remember the day of surgery except saying bye to my wife. Woke up night of surgery and I cant tell you anything from memory but my wife said I was only saying II had some pain and I was not very with it. Turns out surgery only lasted 2 1/2 hours. Dr Accola repaired my Mitral Valve by placing a ring around it to bring it back into shape of a D which is normal shape of valve. He said heart and leaflets looked good and he Clipped the Left Atrial Appendage in heart as this is supposed to assist in avoiding future strokes. The day after surgery was tough. I can only recommend you not be shy about the pain meds you take that day. Take everything you can to reduce the pain. The day after the day after surgery was night and day on change for the better. Amazing the improvement I had with pain. Still I say do not be shy using the pain meds, stay on top of the pain, if you let it get in front of you its much harder to manage. I was out of the Hospital in 3 days on Halloween! Before surgery I told my wife I would like to go as a healthy person for Halloween this year ha ha. When I first got home I continued taking the pain meds as prescribed and it helped with most of the pain but I was tired and take a nap everyday still. One of the best pieces of advice I can give is be careful with your laxatives. I took Polyethylene Glycol brand name miralax. I took too much for too long and had bad stomach and intestinal pain. Once I stopped taking it I felt so much better It is for taking once or twice not daily! If you need it try Smooth Move Tea. I was amazed at the improvement after surgery from surgery day to 2 days after. It is remarkable how much better I felt in that short period of time. Certainly still have issues with being tired. Also, some pain if I do too much activity or if I don't follow the precautions the doctor and hospital gave me. . Another strange thing I noticed after surgery was I did not want to talk much. That had lasted a week or so. I want to share with you that I was scared going into this but if you get an experienced team you will be fine and even surprised at how well you recover. You will need good support and if you can be in presence of Family watching you at all times from Surgery to 3 days later please do this. You don't need ten at a time just one or two with you round the cock, it will help with ensure you get everything you need. Looking forward to a few months out si I can really test this fixed valve.

51 yr old in shape and no other medical issues but heart attack 2010 with left side damage to muscle. I have mitral valve surgery due to regurgitation scheduled for 10-20 at Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville Florida with Dr. Landolfo. I was given a 60% chance probability of fixing valve and 40% of replacing. He will do the minimally evasive right sidewall surgery. Seeking any pre and post surgery advice, I am very anxious about procedure and recovery.