About Me (In My Own Words)
When I was 55 years old I was diagnosed with a bicuspid aortic heart valve following an echo-cardiogram. At the time I was told I would need to have the valve replaced sometime in the future; perhaps between the age of 65 to 70. In July of 2017 I had a mild heart attack while bicycle riding (I have been a life long cyclist), and had a single stent installed. My 36 sessions of intensive cardiac rehabilitation was not going well, and in early November of 2017 surgery was recommended even though I was still taking Plavix following my first stent installation. Considering my lifestyle, and my career working construction I decided a tissue valve was my best choice. The Monday before the surgery the cardiac catheterization indicated I would have a triple CABG along with the AVR. The surgery was on Tuesday morning, and I was not brought out from anesthesia until Friday. Surgery did not go well. I had several transfusions where I had been given 16 units of blood. I had no blood pressure, and my liver had quit. There was a leak, and the Barnes doctors had my wife sign a release to take me out of the surgeons care and open me up a second time. They repaired some open "nicks", but left me open and packed with antibiotics until they new I would hold blood. During my surgery I went into a-fib and they gave me Amiodarone. With all the excess blood flooding my tissues it was toxic to my system. Hospital schedules required me to remain open until thursday, but an infection had set in. After I was buttoned up and holding blood they brought me out on Friday. I had a CAT scan and it was determined the infection was low on my sternum incision, but shallow and I would be treated with IV antibiotics. After 7 days in the ICU I was released to the step down unit. The lower 1 1/2" of my incision was open and weeping. My dressing was packed and changed every 12 hrs. I continued on IV antibiotics and was on treatments to monitor my liver and get my fluid balance stabilized. I had essentially been abandoned by my original surgeon and was being treated by the "doctor of the day" and the nurse practitioner on the floor who was making the morning rounds. After 18 days in the step down unit my incision was still weeping, and there was a raging debate as to was I going to be released, or going to stay. Finally I told the nurse practitioner to get a hold of Dr. Moon and get him to make a decision. That evening I was examined by one of Dr. Moon's interns and a couple of hours later Dr. Moon came in and said I was going to be released tomorrow with a wound vacuum. He cleaned up the wound put in a couple of staples at the top, inserted some sponges, applied the suction head, and hot me hooked up on a "house" unit. The next morning a big box was delivered with my portable unit, and I was released just about a week before Christmas. Nearly a month in the hospital. Every other day a nurse would come by and clean my wound and service the wound vacuum. With the wound vacuum and taking a tissue building supplement (Juven) the wound healed quickly. It seeped for about 7 days and in two more weeks the wound was too small to pack. Second week of January I went in to see Dr. Moon for a follow up. At this time I was told he had a tough time finding suitable veins for grafts, and was only able to do one of the three scheduled CADG as indicated by the catheterization prior to the open heart surgery. Two weeks later this was confirmed by a stress test and another catheterization was performed to install stents in two more blocked arteries By Dr. Lasala. He also check the one graft Dr. Moon had put in and it had been collapsed as well. Dr.Lasala installed 4 LARGE diameter stents in series in the CABG which had just been put in during the open heart surgery. I now have 7 stents (approximately 6" total length), a by pass graft, and a new prosthetic tissue heart valve. A year and half since my surgery I am doing well. I can enjoy working in the heat again, I am up to 40 miles on my road bike, and i have been able to maintain my weight at approximately 170 lb's (+/-) and wearing size 34 pants. Not but 5 years ago I was pushing size 40 pants, and even then there had to be some elastic in the waist band for comfort. I do not eat cheese, or any fried foods. Do not eat guacamole or chips and salsa at Mexican restaurants. I eat very little pork, and even less beef. Grilled fish and chicken and plain baked potatoes. Many in my family harbor ill feelings about the hospital and my doctor. I don't. I can not say I could recommend my specific surgeon but if I had it all over to do again I would have considered waiting for about 6 months until I could be taken off the Plavix I was taking for my first stent put in that summer, but then again that would have wiped out my savings since I would have been transitioning to a high deductible health plan as mandated by my employer, and I had already met my deductible for the plan year with my stent installation. My insurance picked up the $349,000 bill for my surgery and nearly a month in the hospital and I had virtually nothing out of pocket.
More Info About Me & My Heart
More About Me
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I am from:
St. Charles, MO
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My surgery date is:
November 28, 2017
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I was diagnosed with:
Aortic Stenosis
Bicuspid Aortic Valve
Coronary Artery Disease
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My surgery was:
Aortic Valve Replacement
Coronary Artery Bypass Graft
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My surgeon is:
Dr. Marc Moon
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My hospital is:
Barnes Jewish Hospital at Washington University Me
