Russ's Journal

nicole taylor  Hi Russ,

I've undergone the same surgery and have several areas of numbness. Fortunately, nerves grow back about an inch per month so you will slowly have more feeling. At the beginning although, it is very numb. 


Happy healing! 
Nicole

nicole taylor  Oh! and movement helps apparently! So I'd say take it slow but maybe 4 weeks-5 weeks light stretching will do you some good! All the best - N

Susan Lynn  Russ - I had minimally invasive surgery and had numbness, pins and needles, and intermittent sudden sharp pains near my incision and on my back for more than a year after my procedure. Numbness can be permanent, but you won't be able to determine that for sure for quite awhile. Be patient.

Klara Čičić  Hi, it should eventually heal, although sometimes not 100%. It takes a year or two for nerve endings to heal so be patient and it should definitely get better.

Russ Fairchild  So as far as I know my AFIB resulted from the mitral valve surgery and was detected while I was in the hospital.  My research shows that this happens about 30% of the time.  I was not given any medicine for the AFIB but Apixaban aka Eliquis which is a "blood thinner" to protect against blood clots that can arise from AFIB.  The Cardiologist said they would put their hands in their pockets to see what happened.  My research also shows that if it is to resolve itself on its own then it typically does so within two weeks.  This gives the heart, and specifically the left atrium time to heal from the surgery which causes inflammation and thus the AFIB.  My cardiologist said this time can vary but it was almost exactly two weeks after surgery that the AFIB disappeared on its own.  Again, my research shows this happens about half the time after someone develops AFIB from mitral valve surgery.

Susan Lynn  I used to work for a large financial company based in NJ and spent some time in the Morristown area. I'm also a mitral valve heart warrior - If I can do it, you can, too, Russ! Wishing you all the best on September 8!

Susan Lynn  Russ - I know how you feel! If you have any questions, please feel free to ask. I can assure you that every part of the process is completely tolerable. The hardest part was waiting for 'game day' to arrive! By the time you check in at the hospital, the worst is behind you. Enjoy the anesthesia - it'll be over before you know it!

Susan Lynn  After my TEE, my cardiologist and surgeon were able to definitely tell me that I would be getting a repair - I never had to choose a valve for a replacement. I might consider inquiring about their opinion on repair v. replacement. Most experienced mitral valve surgeons are able to repair more than 90% of the time. You'll want to ask your surgeon about his repair rate and volume. Please keep us posted. Good luck!

George Gardopee  I second Susan’s advice. You didn’t mention where your surgeon is, but most of us would recommend getting a second opinion from a high-volume center that specializes in mitral valve surgery. I almost fell into the trap of going with the local surgeon for a replacement (he didn’t do repairs). The advice I got on this site convinced me to get a second opinion and I ended up with a repair instead which, in my opinion, is always preferable. Good luck.

Allen Carkner  Do many people get TEE (Trans-esophageal echocardiograms) done? I've only ever had to do TTE (Trans-thoracic echocardiograms). Except intra-operatively I had the esophageal one.

Rose Madura  Russ, I agree with Susan and George.  It's important to do your own research and ask a lot of good questions.  Be your own advocate.  

Allen - I had a TEE in the OR just prior to surgery.  I didn't even know anything about it until I saw on the MyChart that I had one.  I suppose every surgeon/hospital are different.

Deena Elani  would ask: 1) are any chambers dilated? 2) what is your ejection fraction rate; 3) are of your valves calcified; and 4) how urgent is the need for surgery

Robert Miller  I got a TEE when I was initially admitted to the hospital. You might have some gag reflexes when they do that. I told the main person to just sedate me enough so I don't have those reflexes. They did a really good job... I don't remember a thing except that there were also a bunch of "students" there as the shift was ending.

As for the results, I can't give a whole lot of input. They check the size of the heart, ejection rate, try to get a better understanding where it is leaking (along the 'wall', P1, P2, P3), etc. Both surgeons told me that they can't say for sure what they will do but the first approach is always fixing it. If there is any chance to fix it they will do so (at least the ones I talked to) and then before the close you up they do another TEE to make sure there is no leakage and the repair was successful.


As for surgeons, definitely get a second opinion about the findings and suggested procedures. My first surgery was at a fairly large hospital and the surgeon did a few thousand mitral valve repairs in the past. For my second surgery I went to a bit a smaller hospital but there I was treated by the director of cardiac surgery (Dr. Castro) who also did some thousand of mitral valve surgeries. My brother-in-law is a surgeon himself (not heart) and his opinion is that you might be better served at a smaller hospital. The reason is that then you most likely will get the surgery done by the main surgeon at the hospital. If you go to a place like Stanford, Mayo, etc there is a good chance a "novice" heart surgeon (they need to get trained, after all) will do the surgery (directly supervised by a much more experience person, of course). Plus my experience when talking to the cardiac surgeon at Stanford was just terrible. So if you feel uncomfortable with the information you got or how you were treated then definitely check another place.

Susan Lynn  You've made an excellent point, Robert. I specifically asked my surgeon if he would be performing my surgery. I understand that surgeons have to get experience somehow, but I didn't want to be the practice case. Definitely have to consider the possibility of getting a trainee especially at teaching hospitals.

Russ Fairchild  My surgeon will most likely be from Morristown Medical Center.  But since I live near NYC, I will probably get a second opinion from someone at Langone.  Thanks for all the info.  I will have my questions written down!