Terry's Journal

Gail Magnus  Terry, I had surgery on Feb 1 and have the same thing. I asked a nurse about it. She said the narcotics can cause it and/or your bodies response to surgery. I think as long as you don't have a fever, your blood pressure and heart rate are OK, your incision is healing OK, etc. then the night sweating isn't an uncommon thing. The biggest thing you want to make sure is that it's not a sign of infection. I hope this all makes sense...sorry if I'm going in circles.

Cathy Slipski  Yes I too had night sweats and just like Gail said my doc also said it was from the pain killers. I am 19 days post op and I haven't had one in a week! Good luck!

Gail Magnus  Cathy, are you still taking narcotics? If not, do you remember when you stopped? I've been cutting back a lot, but not completely stopped and it's been 2 weeks today.

Ed Miskovic  Terry, I sufferd profuse sweating my 2nd day after surgery. I was sitting still and suddenly my forehead began sweating. Before offering me the pain killer, the Dr warned me that some effects could last months. So I was changed to Tylenol. No more sweating 10 days after. What's you dr. think?
And by the way thanks for sharing about what is happening post surgery. It keeps me from getting over confident.

Terry Hughes  I began refusing narcotic pain killers such as oxycotin before I was discharged from the hospital. The pain was so minor and I wanted no part of those kind of chemicals going into my body. I took 1 Tramadol a day and sometimes some extra strength Tylenol, but I dropped all of that about a week ago. The Tramadol made me feel loopy and I did not have enough pain to really need anything.
I talked to one of the Cleveland Clinic cardiac nurses on their home care health hot line this morning. She said to not worry about it. She said night sweats are a part of the normal recovery process and they would eventually go away. She said they last longer on some people than others. So, I decided to dismiss them and not worry anymore. Thanks for your comments.

  I had night sweats the first two to three weeks and FROZE my family out of the house because I was so hot! It will regulate!

Melinda Queliz  I too am seeking Dr. Gillinov and I will be traveling from North Carolina not quite as far as you but still not next door for me either. Personally I don't care the distance as long as I know my heart is in good hands...you can't put any value on that. I hope others are able to help you out with this as well! I just found out today I need to prepare for surgery in 2016 for mitral valve repair and am just starting the steps to become a patient of his. Best of luck to you! I'd love to see how your journey goes.

Doran Herritt  I did an e-consult with Cleveland before ending up at u of penn with dr Bavaria, an aortic valve repair/replace specialist surgeon. I didn't go to Cleveland because u of penn was within an hour and was comfortable with the hospital and surgeon. It's ranked number 1 in the region and top 10 in the country (U.S. News). Dr Bavaria has done thousands of repairs/replacements. And because it's a teaching hospital has access to cutting edge technology / clinical trials, etc.

With all that said Cleveland is the best hospital in the country (again us news) so you will be in good hands there. The way they explained it to me you go four days before surgery. The first 3 days they do testing. Echo, tee, heart cath. Then day four they fix your heart. Once they release you after 4-7 days on average you head home. I worked with dr. Svensen out there. Another great aortic valve repair/replace specialty surgeon.

I don't think either of those docs prefer minimal invasive surgery, so maybe not the right picks if you want that. Both advised me if I wanted a repair they prefer opening me up.

Hope this helps. I would give Cleveland a call. They can walk you through the e-consult so you don't need to travel there before hand.

Take care. Good luck.
Drn

Steven A Husted  with so many open heart surgery's done now a days there are so many really good doctors and i did not want to travel because i live alone and have no family or friends to take me so i chose to stay close to home and i am glad i did i went to PRMC peninsula regional medical center on the eastern shore of maryland and from there to Health South rehab hospital so i could take care of myself when i got home it all worked out great my surgion was DR Ogburn he was great so i think that most of the heart surgions who have done many ohs can do a very good job it just matters how far you want to travel or how much help you have after surgery i would try to talk to your local surgions and get there history of ohs which ever way you go you should do fine it was not as bad as i thought it was going to be i am 67 and over one year out my prayers and best wishes for you your heart brother steve (popeye)

Michael Meyer  Terry:

I have reposted my journal here. I had mitral valve repair surgery at Cleveland Clinic with Dr. Gillinov. let me know if I can be of further help assistance. It is more challenging traveling but very doable. I would do it again. See item 9. If you are planner no problem, if not you will need to become one.

I thought I would share some thoughts of this procedure based on my current recovery.

1. It is amazing with regard to physical function and capability four weeks post op open heart surgery. Although I still lack stamina with physical activity, I still think it is amazing what these health care providers have done to repair my mitral valve.

2. The robotic approach and various incisions was more painful than I anticipated. My wife reminded me that various physicians indicated there may be more pain but a shorter recovery period. Still not remembering those conversations.

3. Your personal health prior to mitral valve surgery is critical in providing you with more options. I was in good health with the exception of the mitral valve which opened opportunities for alternative surgeries.

4. Have your loved stay with you the first night on the floor. The transition from the ICU unit to the floor can be difficult and you need your advocate, I do not care how good a hospital that your are in.

5. Make sure have a sleeping mask and ear plugs for the potential noises from the machines and patients in ICU. Allowing you body to rest and heal is important.

6. No matter where you decide to have your surgery and who you choose as a surgeon, you and/or spouse must be well-educated and your strongest advocate. There may be some bumps in the road and you and your loved need to know the best options to challenge the nurses and /or physicians. Go to the local hospital librarian and review the literature on the subjects. I had to challenge my cardiologist and spouse about what procedure that I wanted to consider as they were "old-school" median sternotomy fans.

7. No matter how sharp you are, you will be taking some powerful medications. Many of these medicines dull your senses and response time and many of them make you tired. Although it may not adversely affect your decision(s) it certainly delays your decision making processes.

8. You are going to have some excellent nurses and patient care technicians and some mediocre nurses and patient care technicians. Set the expectations high for the mediocre crew so your needs are best met. You will quickly notice the difference between the high performers who are proactive and the "I have four other patients" and need to get through the shift.

9. It would have been great to have had this surgery locally in the St. Louis, MO region but the reality is that no hospital in the region would come close to the Cleveland Clinic expertise. That said, being remote to the Clinic provides some challenges in follow-up care even with a primary care physician and cardiologist. You have to be prepared and proactive to get the physicians to address the proper issues (as minor as they might be), especially when the option may be a >10 hr drive time to the Clinic. I still believe this remote surgery (away from home) was the best option for me and my family, but it required a lot of help and planning to ensure kids were cared for, parents could attend surgery, post recovery travel was planned. This work/planning needs to be done before the surgery or your caregiver needs to be able to complete these activities as part of their follow-up.

Rob Gundlach  I traveled to CC from Florida for an aorta valve replacement with Dr Svensson. Total stay was 10 days. I flew to Cleveland on 10/25, pre-op was 10/26 & surgery 10/27. I was discharged on 11/3 and flew back on 11/4. In hindsite I should have stayed an additional day. Both my TEE and Heart Catherization were done prior in FL. CC offers transportation from and to the airport. Request Skycab at the airport & they'll take you from the car to the gate. CC is an amazing hospital. The travel was a small price to pay for piece of mind.

Mary K  Hi Terry, Dr. Svensson did my AVR in June via mini sternectomy.I too am from Florida. I had hoped for a repair, but the valve was too far gone. He replaced it with a bovine prosthetic.

My condition prior to surgery was devolving quickly, so I flew to Cleveland for a diagnostic visit. My surgery was two weeks later.

I am glad that I went to Cleveland. I was able to go into the proceduure with complete confidence in my surgeon. The travel back home after surgery was stressful for me due to flight delays, but I have read on this site that it was not so for others.

The disadvantage that I am experiencing is that I have had some post surgery complications, and the doctors here at home want to refer me back to Cleveland. I have to convince them to handle the issues here.

Cleveland Clinic does have experienced cardiac nurses on call during business hours for patients, and I have found them to be very helpful.

Best wishes on your decision. Feel free to ask any questions.

Terry Hughes  I thank all of you for helping me to make up my mind. I also got to talk to an ex-employee, old friend who has been surgical nurse in open heart surgery hospitals for last 20 years. I told him of my question of choosing a 65 yr. old vs. a 53 yr old that is 1300 miles away. He said he had worked with a lot of older surgeons and they always took longer to finish operation. He said the length of time you are on the heart/lung machine is critical to post op results on several levels. I am going to see if I can get set up with Marc Gillinov of CC. I truly appreciate the valuable input I have received here.

Mary K  not sure of Dr. Svennson's age, but I do know that he did the valve replacement in about twenty minutes. I was on the heart lung machine for less than a half hour. his success rate is 99.25%. That said, Dr. Gillinov seems to be a good choice.

Terry Hughes  I agree Mary. I have had one account of minimally invasive AVR taking him 16 min on heart lung machine.

Lynne Gottschalk   I am from Houston and none of the cardiac surgeons here do robotic or minimally invasive surgery so I'm also hoping to go to Clevrland. It's a lot to organise but I think
that I will be in better hands up there.

Kimberly Biddick  I just had my bicuspid aortic valve and ascending aortic aneurysm repaired on November 11 by Dr William Ryan at The Heart Hospital Baylor Plano. I cannot say enough about how wonderful the hospital and Dr Ryan were. I would strongly recommend The Heart Hospital over Medical City (where I believe Dr Dewey does his surgeries). Everyone that I encountered at all of my appointments commented on Dr Ryan and his high skill level. He is one of the best in the nation and I am so thankful he was able to repair vs replace my valve. I wish you the very best and if you have any questions at all, feel free to contact me!!

Also, where in West Texas are you from? My husband is a west Texas boy and we still hunt out there. Doesn't get much better than red dirt and Cowboy boots!! 😃

Terry Hughes  Thank you Kimberly. I had Dr. Ryan on my list and my cardiologist said he would be concerned about his 65 years of age. Perhaps I need to put him back on my list and rethink this. The Heart Hospital Baylor Plano had a much better heart valve mortality rate than Medical City. Thank you so much for sharing that. Was the wait list for surgery very long with Dr. Ryan? Did he do a minimally invasive repair?
I live about 20 miles south of Abilene. Where do you hunt?

Kimberly Biddick  The only concern I had about his age was that down the road, when my repair fails, I will have to choose another surgeon. Otherwise, I've read and heard nothing but wonderful things about him from his colleagues, cardiac nurse friends and other patients. Once we determined that I would have surgery, it was scheduled within 3 weeks! That was kind of scary as I was hoping for a longer wait - haha! As far as your question about going to Cleveland goes, I think since you are already traveling it wouldn't be as hard as it would be for someone who lived close to major hospitals. I know I wouldn't have been very comfortable flying a few days after my discharge, however I have no doubt it would have been do-able... and that was with a full sternotomy, so even better if you are able to have minimally invasive! (Which, by the way... I did have to have a sternotomy (5 1/2") because I had an ascending aortic aneurysm that needed repair as well).

We own land on Terlingua Ranch and my husband went to school and worked on a ranch out in Alpine. We've always hunted near Rising Star/ Cisco but recently started hunting on a lease in-between Haskell and Throckmorton. I say we now hunt there... I just had to have my surgery the opening week so my husband and I haven't been out there to actually hunt yet! Hopefully soon though!!!

Terry Hughes  Kimberly-- I have always been in perfect health and the last time I had surgery or was in a hospital was when I had my tonsils removed in 1952. Please relate to me what your thoughts and feelings were when you woke up in recovery immediately after surgery?