Larry's Guestbook

Larry Peterson  Hi Jacquelyn- feel free to reach out if I can help with any questions.  My surgery was with Dr. De Biasi at the University of Wisconsin and I received a bovine tissue valve and a Dacron graft for my aneurysm.  My aneurysm was about 4.8 cm but since the aortic valve needed replacement, they repaired the aneurysm at the same time.  I was in the hospital about 4 days, and was up and walking the day after my surgery.  Sleeping was the toughest, and I slept in a recliner for six weeks or so.  I did 3 months of cardiac rehab, starting at week 5, and loved it.  The rehab staff was great and we had a lot of laughs.   All the best & good luck on Oct 1- be sure and keep us posted on your progress.  

Larry Peterson  Hello Jan- thanks for the note! Wow, sounds like you had quite a battle with your surgery! Yes, your procedure is exactly the same as mine, and yours was one day before mine on November 30. So sorry to hear about all of the complications you had to endure. Glad to hear you are now feeling relatively fit - pickleball and geocaching are great fun!

I am mostly back to normal and completed my 3 months of cardiac rehab. Riding my motorcycles and chasing 4 year old twin granddaughters now. I have my 8 month visit with my cardiologist in a couple of days. Probably the only significant residual now is sleeping habits; I still prefer sleeping in a recliner and have trouble sleeping on my side in a bed. Funny how the body adapts to something new and the old habits don't work as well anymore!

Wishing you all the best, Jan! I'd love to hear from you in a few months to let me know how you are doing. I hope to make it to Australia some day; I spent 6 months in New Zealand when I was in college but did not make it to Oz. Shared beers with a lot of Aussies, though!!

Lars Peterson

Larry Peterson  Hi J Alexander - I added rowing at about 10 weeks post surgery.  Took it a little slow the first time and had the staff monitor me, but it worked fine and helped my lower back.   I would normally do either 10 or 15 minutes on the rower after 30 minutes on the recumbent bike.  The rower was a Concept II rower - I think they work the best.   Yes, I did my rehab at UW Hospital in Madison.  Good luck with it!

J Alexander Lassally  Thanks so much. Really appreciate this detail. I've been adding a nordic track for about 10  minutes after my standard treadmill fast walks. Seems like a good way to add new things. Will try the rower in a week or so per the trainer suggestion and your testimony! 



 I did try the "stepper" in rehab, which made my shoulder worse, and knee. I promptly quit the program at that point and have been self managing with a trainer as advisor.  So glad you could go to UW Madison for it. .. Nice to catch up ! 

Larry Peterson  UW Hospitals in Madison has been great for both surgery and rehab.  Nice to catch up with you as well, J Alexander!  I think we both had surgery about the same time, so I would enjoy checking in from time to time.  I feel like I am pretty well healed from the sternotomy and don't think about my chest all the time.  Meds are settled and I'm tolerating the mix well.  Biggest problem has been my lower back and sciatica issues - I think all of my lower back muscles atrophied during the first two months of inactivity after surgery, and I'm just now getting them to behave and work together properly.   Take care my friend!

Larry Peterson  Hey Mark - the discrepancy in my aortic aneurysm measurements happened when I started to get mild symptoms from my bicuspid aortic valve stenosis, and my surgeon ordered an echo.  Surprise, my aneurysm measurement jumped from 4.7 to 5.4cm!  When I met with my surgeon, he wasn't terribly concerned about the echo and ordered a CT to confirm the measurement.  CT came back at 4.7cm.  He said echos are more about measuring flow that taking precise diametric measurements.   I still met the criteria for surgery given the stenosis, aortic aneurysm, and presence of symptoms.  

Mark Jaycox  The weird thing about my situation is mine increased after the surgery which puzzled my cardiologist. I have a feeling it will go back down after the CT scan. 

Larry Peterson  Let us know how it turns out, Mark.  I'm guessing you will have a much more normal measurement with the CT.  

Larry Peterson  Thank you Valerie!  It's starting to get pretty real here - 48 hrs to go.  I'll do my best to post updates.  

Rose Madura  Larry, your surgery is same as mine which was six years ago. You'll be amazed at how well you will feel. You probably don't realize how much it is affecting you now.  Once you are fully recovered, your grandchildren will wonder what happened to Grandpa!!!  Godspeed.

Larry Peterson  Thanks Rose - great news!  Good to hear from someone who had the same surgery and had great results.