My mum (80) had open heart surgery yesterday*.
* Well that's the thing, what used to involve cracking the chest open, doing a full by-pass and sewing in a new aorta valve was replaced with slipping some camera thingo up an artery in her arm, inserting a cow's heart valve inside her lazy valve, nip, tuck. She was supposed to spend 4 days in ICU, but last night she just slept in her bed. Vitals were fine, all the machines hooked up to her agreed.
She just called me and they are happy for her to go home tomorrow. Tomorrow. All heart stuff is functioning fine. Her wonky rhythms are resolved. No need for a pacemaker or any other invasive action. Go home, you'll be fine until your next scheduled service Madam.
I am both confused and relieved. She was supposed to be in < > Private for up to two weeks. WTF with modern medicine ?
That's great mate. The technology when it comes to heart operations these days are amazing whenever i speak to my cardiologist.
I had 3 open heart surgeries as a kid before I was 8 years old.
I remember the B2B open heart surgeries when I was 7 and 8 years old as the pig skin valve didn't quite work in 2001 so they had to go back in late 2002 and do it again.
The only positive was I missed 6 weeks of school but I remember as a kid it takes a whole lot out of you. Spend a week in hospital and you just feel exhausted.
Then when I was 15 instead of open heart surgery I was the 3rd child in Australia at Westmead childrens hospital at the time to have a stent operation where they go up through the groin with a balloon then it expands to stop the valve from leaking. The surgery was a success was out of hospital the next day and 2 week recovery before i was playing cricket again.
I haven't had to have a heart operation since.
I will have to have more operations in the future as I was born with a heart condition.
But this stent has lasted me 13 years and because it's worked they will look to try it again to avoid the open heart option. And who knows in 15 years time what other possibilities there are out there.