Have you ever had surgery...?

[RealJames]

Originally Posted by HolyWars

4x open heart surgery, and I'm 25.

what on earth?!

McDonalds diet? Bacon overdoser? Genetic predisposition??

[Nyororin]

Originally Posted by RealJames

what on earth?!

McDonalds diet? Bacon overdoser? Genetic predisposition??

That sounds a whole lot more like a heart defect than a health condition due to diet...

[HolyWars]

Originally Posted by Nyororin

That sounds a whole lot more like a heart defect than a health condition due to diet...

Correct

I have (had) a 'leaky' Aortic Valve, so it was replaced with my own Pulmonary valve and I then recieved a donor valve to replace it (Ross procedure)

That was in 2003 and since it has started to leak a little which is expected. Not to the extent that it was so fingers crossed I don't need one for a long time.

I now visit my Cardiologist every 2 years as apposed to every year which is awesome.

[steel]

[Suki]

Originally Posted by HolyWars

Correct

I have (had) a 'leaky' Aortic Valve, so it was replaced with my own Pulmonary valve and I then recieved a donor valve to replace it (Ross procedure)

That was in 2003 and since it has started to leak a little which is expected. Not to the extent that it was so fingers crossed I don't need one for a long time.

I now visit my Cardiologist every 2 years as apposed to every year which is awesome.

That's a pretty hardcore procedure. I'm glad you pulled through.

Weren't you given the option to get a porcine valve replacement? Sometimes it ain't easy to find the right donor and I hear you can go with a pig's heart valve for 15 years before it requires replacement, which is pretty great.

What does an open heart surgery feel like? It's okay if you'd rather not tell, I understand it can be too much of a touchy experience to share with complete strangers on the Internet, but if you're ok with it I'd really like to know, just out of curiosity.

[HolyWars]

Originally Posted by Suki

That's a pretty hardcore procedure. I'm glad you pulled through.

Weren't you given the option to get a porcine valve replacement? Sometimes it ain't easy to find the right donor and I hear you can go with a pig's heart valve for 15 years before it requires replacement, which is pretty great.

What does an open heart surgery feel like? It's okay if you'd rather not tell, I understand it can be too much of a touchy experience to share with complete strangers on the Internet, but if you're ok with it I'd really like to know, just out of curiosity.

Not at all

We were (my parents) given the option and it was recommended that we take the donor valve. Apperently they have a lower risk of infection, has the best results, can last a long time, and requires far less monitoring (less trips to the specialists).
For the donor valve its about 10% of patients after 10 years need the valve replaced, and 20% after 15 years
Also I dont need to take any medication for it unlike the other options except for the first 6 months after the surgery.

The surgery took about 8 hours from what I was told.

Intensive care wasnt so bad as I was pretty well out of it for the most part, and after a couple of days ( I think....there was no windows and the clock was too far away for me to have any concept of time.) I was taken to the ward.

I had to do breathing exercises, and walk around as much as I could (which was damn hard actually after being in bed for a few days).
Coughing was by far the most painful thing I went through (lol) whilst in there, coughing after that kind of procedure is horrible and painful as hell.

I was out in under a week But I couldn't really do to much for about a month after as I just had no energy and was pretty sore.

[Rinai]

I've had one before when I was very small. It had to be before I was 8. I don't remember much. All I remember was that at night, my father had to wake me up because I wasn't breathing or I was making struggling noises or sometimes I'd just wake up on my own. I also remember the day of surgery, I was lying down on a table and a doctor had given me a stuffed animal and I fell asleep. It wasn't until I was about 13 that I asked about it and was told that I had to have surgery on my nose and for some reason they took my tonsils out too I'm guessing. Because right now I don't have my tonsils. My mom was shocked to find this out. MY TONSILS WERE STOLEN.

*plooka plooka*

[Suki]

HW: The way you talk about it makes it sound like it was a fairly easy surgery to recover from, when it's like the exact opposite. And you sound all optimistic about the whole thing, truly admirable.

So, other than seeing your cardiologist every other year, do you lead a normal life? Like, are you allowed to work out, go jogging, than kinda stuff?

Originally Posted by HolyWars

For the donor valve its about 10% of patients after 10 years need the valve replaced, and 20% after 15 years

What about the other 70%? Can it last a lifetime?

Also, how hard was it to find a donor who was a match for you?

Originally Posted by HolyWars

Coughing was by far the most painful thing I went through (lol) whilst in there, coughing after that kind of procedure is horrible and painful as hell.

Really, like worse than the pain from the wound before it healed entirely?

Hey I'm fan #1 of scars, you totally sound like my kinda guy.

[HolyWars]

Originally Posted by Suki

HW: The way you talk about it makes it sound like it was a fairly easy surgery to recover from, when it's like the exact opposite. And you sound all optimistic about the whole thing, truly admirable.

Why Thank You! I think that I built it up so much leading into it, it just seemed easier than I was expecting.
I remember the time before last when I was about 6, I was in hospital for close to a month, so to get out in 6 or so days was fantastic, particularly when it was a bigger procedure! It just shows how far the technology/methods used have come.

Originally Posted by Suki

So, other than seeing your cardiologist every other year, do you lead a normal life? Like, are you allowed to work out, go jogging, than kinda stuff?

Yep, I can do all of those things, pretty much. I'm not allowed to do Heavy weight lifting which is the only thing that I can think of. I can do all the cardio and exercise that I want really apart from that

Originally Posted by Suki

What about the other 70%? Can it last a lifetime?

Also, how hard was it to find a donor who was a match for you?

I couldn't tell you the answer to both of these tbh, I just remember my cardiologist mentioning this to me.

Originally Posted by Suki

Really, like worse than the pain from the wound before it healed entirely?

Most certainly! I'm not saying that the wound wasn't painful, it's just everytime I coughed it felt like the zipper was going to burst open.

Originally Posted by Suki

Hey I'm fan #1 of scars, you totally sound like my kinda guy.

[dogsbody70]

Originally Posted by Rinai

I've had one before when I was very small. It had to be before I was 8. I don't remember much. All I remember was that at night, my father had to wake me up because I wasn't breathing or I was making struggling noises or sometimes I'd just wake up on my own. I also remember the day of surgery, I was lying down on a table and a doctor had given me a stuffed animal and I fell asleep. It wasn't until I was about 13 that I asked about it and was told that I had to have surgery on my nose and for some reason they took my tonsils out too I'm guessing. Because right now I don't have my tonsils. My mom was shocked to find this out. MY TONSILS WERE STOLEN.

*plooka plooka*

It used to be the NORM in Britain for tonsils to be removed from children. I was three when I had mine removed-- It sure did hurt at that TIME because I remember they tried toforce me to drink hot milk-- I have hated hot milk ever since.

Of course it does not happen now apart from necessity.