Chest/wound pain months after operation

[Red_Baron]

Hi,

I had an aortic root replacement op in May 2019. I had a partial sternotomy (is that the right word).

Over recent months, I’ve been conscious of discomfort to the right hand side of where they went through the ribs and there is also a pronounced bony ridge forming where the sternum is rejoining. The pain/discomfort is most noticeable when I reach round for my seat belt when driving and when I wake in the morning if I’ve been sleeping on my side.

I’m conscious of the fact that this may be a result of the long road back to recovery but would welcome thoughts / experiences from others.

Best

Nigel

[Harrysgran]

Hi there. I had an Aortic Valve Replacement 3 years ago and i still have discomfort at the top of my sternum with a bony lump where it was wired. Im told the wires can be removed quite easily but it means another GA. Maybe the same could be offered to you if things dont settle down.

I am interested in why you had an aortic root replacement and what it involved as it might be a choice i have to make at some point.Thats if you dont mind sharing your experience with me ! X

[Red_Baron in reply to Harrysgran]

Hi, here is link I posted after the op. The reason was that the wall of my asc aorta had dilated to 50+mm

healthunlocked.com/bhf/post...

[Harrysgran in reply to Red_Baron]

Thanks for that. It sounds quite like my experience of having the AVR ( except for the AF). I think we tend to play things down on here but we have all survived major life saving surgery and its scary, its painfull and its emotionally and psychologically very challenging .

However, we find strength and courage from somewhere and put our faith in the wonderfull surgeons. Im so glad your op has been succesfull, enjoy your holiday ( im very jealous!) x

[Red_Baron in reply to Harrysgran]

You’re right - we often don’t realise just what we’ve been through...