Diana Chamblin-Bevirt - Heart Valve Journal

My Journal

7 days ago

Susan Lynn reacted to this

I would love to know how many hours did everyone’s surgery last, and how many total days were spent in the hospital?

Susan Lynn Diana - I had minimally-invasive mitral valve surgery. I'm not sure of the total surgical time beca... Read more

Susan Lynn Diana - I had minimally-invasive mitral valve surgery. I'm not sure of the total surgical time because of the pre and post-op activities, but my surgeon told me that I was on bypass for about an hour and a half.

I had surgery on Friday morning and was released around 1:00 p.m. on Monday. I was very fortunate that everything went exactly as planned and my procedure and recovery were uneventful. There are situations and even individual approaches by some surgeons that may make your hospital stay longer. Everyone is different.

Wishing you the best!

Diana Chamblin-Bevirt That’s very encouraging, I am having the minimally invasive (thoracotomy) mitral valve repair, I ho ... Read more

Diana Chamblin-Bevirt That’s very encouraging, I am having the minimally invasive (thoracotomy) mitral valve repair, I hope mine goes as smoothly as yours!

Richard Munson I was told 5 hours surgery and stayed a week, same surgery. Too many variables to compare one to the ... Read more

Richard Munson I was told 5 hours surgery and stayed a week, same surgery. Too many variables to compare one to the other i think.

Daneen Douglas I had a full sternotomy. They replaced my aortic root, aortic valve and ascending aorta. To my surp ... Read more

Daneen Douglas I had a full sternotomy. They replaced my aortic root, aortic valve and ascending aorta. To my surprise the actual surgery including the prep, opening, heart lung machine, transfusion, and closing started at 9:00 and they said they were closing me up at 12:30. So that’s only 3 1/2 hours. So, I’m thinking my surgery was about 2 1/2 hours. I think it was shorter due to a full replacement of all the plumbing, lol!

Diana Chamblin-Bevirt Daneen, Isn’t it incredible what they are able to do in such a short amount of time? That’s amazi ... Read more

Diana Chamblin-Bevirt Daneen, Isn’t it incredible what they are able to do in such a short amount of time? That’s amazing. My first surgery date I was to be the first case at 8, since they bumped me to the 28th, I’m now the second case of the day after an 8:30 case. I’m hoping for an early afternoon start, or at least maybe they can hook me up to something that makes me not care that I’m waiting for surgery!

Daneen Douglas Diana, yes it is all so incredible to me. What time are you supposed to report to the hospital? Tha ... Read more

Daneen Douglas Diana, yes it is all so incredible to me. What time are you supposed to report to the hospital? That’s probably a good estimation on time frame.

Ann T I had 2 emergency open heart surgeries. I really don't know how long they took. I know for the one I ... Read more

Ann T I had 2 emergency open heart surgeries. I really don't know how long they took. I know for the one I went in emergently around midnight and was awake and recovering pretty early that morning. The first surgery I was in the hospital 10 days. The second one was much quicker. I was in for 5 days, and that was the one where I ended up with the most work, got a mechanical valve, replaced aortic root, and pacemaker!

Dan Fouratt I duplicated Susan Lynn, 3 hours of minimally invasive surgery on Thursday and out on Sunday. My surg ... Read more

Dan Fouratt I duplicated Susan Lynn, 3 hours of minimally invasive surgery on Thursday and out on Sunday. My surgeon has a reputation of being quick.

Diana Chamblin-Bevirt I’m supposed to report at 10, I think the admitting process and pre surgical stuff takes about 2 ho ... Read more

Diana Chamblin-Bevirt I’m supposed to report at 10, I think the admitting process and pre surgical stuff takes about 2 hours, after that not sure when mine will start.

Daneen Douglas So around noon or soon after it sounds like!

Susan Dunne Hi, I had about 5 hours in surgery and 17 hours intubated. I had some excessive bleeding during sur ... Read more

Susan Dunne Hi, I had about 5 hours in surgery and 17 hours intubated. I had some excessive bleeding during surgery, three transfusions and on and off heart lung machine twice. Aortic,valve was replaced, aortic root repaired and tear in right atrium repaired. Despite all that I am 18weeks post surgery and after echo everything is great. I don't think the time in surgery has any bearing on recovery. Just so the job is done right. These surgeons ate miracle workers🙋

Diana Chamblin-Bevirt Thank you all. Just trying to get an idea of what the average times are so my family can plan.

Rex Austin I'm amazed at some of these times you folks were in surgery. They took me back at 10:30 am and my fa ... Read more

Rex Austin I'm amazed at some of these times you folks were in surgery. They took me back at 10:30 am and my family said they called them about 5:30 pm and said I was finished. They tried to wake me up at 10:30 pm and I still had my breathing tube. It was so bad they put me back under. As I was told it was about 1:30 am when they woke me up to suction my throat out and then removed the tube. Next thing I remember was sitting in the chair and being served breakfast. I was starving and ate like a horse! They had me up and walking not too long after that. That tube was honestly the worst part of my surgery. I had a ct scan and met with the anesthesiologist team on a Monday, had surgery Tuesday morning and went home that Sunday.

Adam Pick Hey Diana, I was 5 days in the hospital. To help you learn a little more about what to expect in the ... Read more

Adam Pick Hey Diana, I was 5 days in the hospital. To help you learn a little more about what to expect in the hospital, you may want to watch this video about patient expectations in the hospital. Hope that helps! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aNLYxVx44GY

Doctor Q&A: What Can Heart Valve Surgery Patients Expect In The Hospital?

https://www.Heart-Valve-Surgery.com - Patients preparing for heart surgery are often confused about the realities of staying in a hospital - before, during a...

Ed Stark My surgery was about 5 hours in total, went to the OR at 8 am on a Monday was home for dinner on Wedn ... Read more

Ed Stark My surgery was about 5 hours in total, went to the OR at 8 am on a Monday was home for dinner on Wednesday the same week. Surgery went as planned. No complications. Woke up without the breathing tube, in my hospital room.

Denise Kirchner Hi Diana,
My minimally invasive mitral valve repair surgery in 2012 was on a Tuesday and about 5 h ... Read more

Denise Kirchner Hi Diana,
My minimally invasive mitral valve repair surgery in 2012 was on a Tuesday and about 5 hours long with 1 1/2 hours on the heart/lung bypass. I did wake up with the tube still in. It was uncomfortable but not horrible. I was released from the hospital the following Monday - so 7 days in the hospital. Sending hugs and keeping you in my thoughts & prayers .
❤️ 🙏🏻❤️‍🩹

Denise Kirchner Praying for you today that God bless the hands of the surgeon and his team as they perform your surge ... Read more

Denise Kirchner Praying for you today that God bless the hands of the surgeon and his team as they perform your surgery today.
Sending hugs, love and prayers your way!❤️🙏🏻❤️‍🩹🤗

Jennifer Barnett My surgery was open heart mitral valve replacement and a maze procedure which took 4 hours. I stayed ... Read more

Jennifer Barnett My surgery was open heart mitral valve replacement and a maze procedure which took 4 hours. I stayed a further two weeks in hospital after surgery as I had been very ill prior to surgery having had endocarditis and I needed close monitoring and further antibiotics after surgery I made a full recovery and improved alot once I was back home.

Diana Chamblin-Bevirtposted an update

10 days ago

Adam Pick, Lynne Anderson reacted to this

Those who have already had their surgery, do you remember waking up with the breathing tube still in, do you remember them taking it out, or was it taken out ...Read more

Those who have already had their surgery, do you remember waking up with the breathing tube still in, do you remember them taking it out, or was it taken out before you were even fully awake. I understand you have to demonstrate that you are awake enough to do the breathing on your own before removal, my daughter-in-law nurse says most of her cardiac patients never even remember having the tube or having it removed.

Nancy Bukowski Hi Diana, I do remember waking up with the breathing tube still in and I do remember them taking it o ... Read more

Nancy Bukowski Hi Diana, I do remember waking up with the breathing tube still in and I do remember them taking it out. Your understanding is correct in that you need to demonstrate that you can stay awake for 30 minutes so you can breathe on your own. This is where my difficulty came in- I knew what I needed to do (stay awake) and I was having a hard time doing so. I was getting frustrated and couldn't talk because of the tube. Finally was able to accomplish and things got better from there!

Rose Madura I woke with the breathing tube in because I wasn't breathing on my own at first. It was uncomfortable ... Read more

Rose Madura I woke with the breathing tube in because I wasn't breathing on my own at first. It was uncomfortable but I realized it was necessary. They took it out soon after.

Adam Pick Great question. I woke up with the tube in which was a bit uncomfortable as nobody told me to expect ... Read more

Adam Pick Great question. I woke up with the tube in which was a bit uncomfortable as nobody told me to expect that. That said, a lot of work has and is being done to enhance that patient experience via the use of in-operating room extubation. Here's an educational video I just posted all about this. Hope it helps! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7OblmGX9Klg

Surgeon Q&A: Ventilator Tube Removal After Heart Surgery

https://www.Heart-Valve-Surgery.com - Waking up in the intensive care unit (ICU) with a ventilator tube still in after heart surgery can be a very uncomforta...

Grace Mason I only vaguely remember being told it was being removed and a slight scratchy feeling as it was remov ... Read more

Grace Mason I only vaguely remember being told it was being removed and a slight scratchy feeling as it was removed. I was never aware of it being there before the removal.

Rita Savelis I don't remember it being removed. It is in only as a precaution and taken out as soon as possible, m ... Read more

Rita Savelis I don't remember it being removed. It is in only as a precaution and taken out as soon as possible, many patients (like me) were too groggy to notice.

Marlene Holder I remember them telling me they were taking it out but I have no memory of it being in or them taking ... Read more

Marlene Holder I remember them telling me they were taking it out but I have no memory of it being in or them taking it out.

Daneen Douglas I completely remember the ventilator and remember thinking,, “Oh no!” in my mind. I was super afr ... Read more

Daneen Douglas I completely remember the ventilator and remember thinking,, “Oh no!” in my mind. I was super afraid about being coherent with the ventilator in. But I was so loopy from anesthesia I don’t remember any real feeling. I was in icu and I think they removed it shortly after I was awake. I remember it being weird but really not memorable at all. I remember just wanting ice cubes after they removed it due to dry throat and mouth. I ate so many I got a little nauseas and they told me to take it slow, lol.

I remembered everything in icu, even a nurse’s private phone call about a car accident and a code blue for another patient. Later, I asked about those two things and she was amazed I heard and remembered, and maybe a little embarrassed that she was on a personal call in front of me.

Marie Myers I remember chewing on the tube when I started to wake up. Then I fell back asleep, and it was out nex ... Read more

Marie Myers I remember chewing on the tube when I started to wake up. Then I fell back asleep, and it was out next time I woke up.

Allen Carkner I was awake. However that first day is all like a dream. I really only remember moments of gargling o ... Read more

Allen Carkner I was awake. However that first day is all like a dream. I really only remember moments of gargling on saliva, then them suctioning, then I remember being awake with my family with no breathing tube. It was strange but it wasn’t long before it was out and again it was under heavy sedation.

J Alexander Lassally Yes remember it all, but was foggy and super drugged up through it !

Richard Munson Mine was in, then i saw an angel and thought, oh oh, i’m all done. Turned out to be a young nurse s ... Read more

Richard Munson Mine was in, then i saw an angel and thought, oh oh, i’m all done. Turned out to be a young nurse so i took a breath on my own. So far i’m still breathing.

Dan Fouratt
Mine was in and I was restrained. They said I woke up a couple of hours before and went right fo ... Read more

Dan Fouratt
Mine was in and I was restrained. They said I woke up a couple of hours before and went right for the tube. They decided to restrain me at that point. Knowing me, I almost asked before surgery to be restrained figuring I would go for the tube before being fully aware. Pulling the tube out by yourself is not recommended. In retrospect I wish I asked to be restrained. It did not hurt and it helped me avoid a stupid mistake when I was "foggy" or whatever term you want to use. It was a great relief when it was finally taken out.

J Alexander Lassally Dan. So similar to me. I was restrained in fact....

Lynne Anderson I woke up in ICU with the breathing tube still in and I was so uncomfortable. It felt like I was brea ... Read more

Lynne Anderson I woke up in ICU with the breathing tube still in and I was so uncomfortable. It felt like I was breathing through a straw and my mouth and throat were so dry. My husband and nurse kept telling me to wake up so the ube could come out. When the nurse did remove it, it wasn't fun, but she got it out quickly.

Ann T I do remember the tube after both surgeries I had. I would say it was not as bad as I expected for me ... Read more

Ann T I do remember the tube after both surgeries I had. I would say it was not as bad as I expected for me. I mostly just found myself wanting to chew on it.

Larry Peterson Hi Diana- I have no memory of my breathing tube being removed. My family said I was partially awake ... Read more

Larry Peterson Hi Diana- I have no memory of my breathing tube being removed. My family said I was partially awake but pretty out of it.

Diana Chamblin-Bevirt Thank you everyone!!

Alex Mohr I don't remember it. The pain was not bad for me at all. Tubes and wires were quick and you will be o ... Read more

Alex Mohr I don't remember it. The pain was not bad for me at all. Tubes and wires were quick and you will be on pain management. I wouldn't worry about it.

Suelynn Hanegraaf First SAVR - barely remember. Second SAVR - awake and aware with respiratory therapists asking me to ... Read more

Suelynn Hanegraaf First SAVR - barely remember. Second SAVR - awake and aware with respiratory therapists asking me to hit some kind of breathing “markers” before removing it. It took awhile (like a couple of hours). Not fun. But it’s behind me!

Rex Austin Kind of hate to post this but that was the worst experience of my surgery. Hope I never have to go t ... Read more

Rex Austin Kind of hate to post this but that was the worst experience of my surgery. Hope I never have to go through that again. I feel sure you will have a better experience. It was a necessary evil though.

Jennifer Barnett I remember waking up in ICU with the tube still in. I was quite groggy but indicated that I quickly w ... Read more

Jennifer Barnett I remember waking up in ICU with the tube still in. I was quite groggy but indicated that I quickly wanted it removed due to the discomfort which they did and it was a relief.

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