What questions should I be asking? AVR surgery.

[Sammycat]

Hi - I am seeing my surgeon on Thursday with a view to having an AVR and possible graft bypass towards the end of this month. Although I have a million questions, when it comes to writing them down, my mind has gone blank.

In your experience, what things should I be asking?

[Nanny72]

I didn't have much of a chance to ask questions as it was an emergency.

I wish I had asked about the type of valve. I have a porcine one.

A mechanical one lasts longer but you need to stay on Warfarin for life which means blood tests. But it would have been nice to be asked.

Most of my questions were asked post op.

Questions about driving and exercise, those were answered afterwards.

I was lucky as my husband was able to look after me.

But there were two ladies on the step down ward who were waiting for residential home places (temporary) because they had no one to care for them at home.

I know you are a little concerned about aftercare.

It is worth asking about pain control. I was lucky because I didn't have much pain.

The pacing wires may be a bit of a shock, it is worth asking for them to be explained.

Ask about which medication you may be on because mine was changed.

A very small concern was finding I had a urinary catheter, I think I mentioned I was ventilated for 8 days.

Ask how long you will be ventilated for.

I don't know how much you know about what happens when you are on bypass. If you want to know ask.

You will get a visit from cardiac nurses when you get home. They are absolutely brilliant.

Things were not so bad for me. I spent 40 years working in a hospital and have looked after people in High Dependency and Intensive Care Units.

Also my granddaughter has had five open heart surgeries so both my husband and daughter were confident asking questions while I was in hospital. And were able to deal with me on the ventilator.

I do think, that sometimes, things are harder for those who love us.

Please ask me anything. I am now nine months post op. Enjoying life. Not out of breath. Have lost weight and started Pilates today.

Feel as if I have been given a second chance at life.

[Janemags]

Hi Sammycat, good to hear you've got that meeting. Don't know about bypass, but I did have a synthetic graft to replace my ascending aorta. Surgeon just explained the procedure and materials used. I didn't have anything else I needed to know about that.

As far as AVR is concerned, he or she will explain that there are two options - tissue valve replacement, using animal tissue, or mechanical heart valve. That's where your questions will arise I suspect. Tissue means you don't need to be on blood thinners (I'm on warfarin), but the lifespan of that before another one is needed is 10 or so years. I was happy to opt for mechanical valve, and although I'm on warfarin, it's not a problem for me (and I can still enjoy a cheeky g&t in moderation!).

So ask him or her to explain your options fully, and what the implications are of each, pros and cons etc.

I suppose you will also want to know as much detail as possible on the op itself, how many times your surgeon has performed it, benefits of having the op versus not having it.

Consider any allergies (I'm allergic to nickel so wanted to be sure there would be none in the valve). The cardiac nursing team who will look after you will be the best to talk to about practicalities such as bras, clothing, your wound, stockings etc and your rate of recovery and what to expect.

Can't think of anything else but start your list now and add to it from now til Thursday. And you can always ring the surgeon or cardiac nurse with any questions you forget to ask on the day. Good luck! 🙂

[Hidden]

To be quite honest the only question I would (in hindsight) be asking is what was planned to give me for pain management and then tell him if you take any form of pain killer - long time - because the last thing you want is to be given a pain killer that you could have an immunity to. If you do make sure he/she realises this and takes that into account there will be no concerns. Another hint - after the operation, f they offer you a pain killer - take it, if they think you do not need it, they will not ask again.

[Wigg2]

Hi There

I had AVR and bypass i got diagnosed and treated within 2 weeks so so didn’t have too much time to think but the biggest thing was which type of valve I was going to have. I chose a mechanical one I don’t really like the thought of permanent meds but I didn’t fancy having another op in 10/15 years.There is another valve now which combines the two but I think it depends on the hospital you go to as it wasn’t an option for me

As far as the bypass goes they were able to use my mammary artery instead of my leg so you might want to ask about that

The others are right ,the cardiac team will help you with information about after care and bras and looking after the wound etc

I’m 6 months post op and I’m self employed so I’ve been back at work about a six weeks and doing ok just take it steady to begin with and then build up

You’ll be fine

Any other questions I’m happy to answer