Richard's Posts

On year ago I was just starting to wake up after my mitral valve repair and LAD artery bypass surgery! Many memories are still vivid of the experience and recovery. Other than two minor incidences of infections from my sternum wires, I have had a remarkably easy recovery. I went back to my office, no strainuous work, eight days after my surgery and have continued ever since. I know that I was fortunate to have had such a smooth recovery, but I feel it was worth taking the effort to travel to the Cleveland Clinic. Everybody and Dr. Gillinov were great, and I highly recommend them! A lot has happened this last year, and I thank God for this. I just saw my daughter graduate from her surgery residency "and" have our first grandchild! I know it can be scary when you first learn of your condition and the treatment ahead, but there is a lot of life to look forward to afterwards. Keep the faith!

I'm a little over seven months post op and doing great! I am fully functional and plan on going skiing in a couple of weeks. However, I have had and am having a recurrence of a complication that I had not read about. About two months post op, I developed an infection related to my sternal wires. The infection was not in the sternum or chest and just under my skin. I had the infection lanced and took a course of antibiotics. Everything seemed to heal OK , but I was told that there was a 25% chance of a recurrence, which would probably lead to surgery to remove the wires. Five months later, the infection has recurred. The doctor wanted to do surgery next week to remove the wires. Since I had my ski trip already planned with my family, the doctor lanced the infection again and I am taking antibiotics until I return. At that time we will see what it looks like. Maybe it will heal and never return. From reading this web site, I really had no surprises with the surgery. However, I was surprised by this post op complication.