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Name: “Doc”
Middleton
Current Age: 80
yrs 4 mos
Occupation: Retired,
formerly PhD in
Electrical Engineering
Your Family:
Wife, Cindy, 3 sons, 2
daughters, 8
grandchildren
When you found out
about your condition:
Earliest symptoms 1960 (Atrial
fibrillation). Murmur
for ?? years. Daughter
Ann wrote to MD prior to
annual physical this
April requesting that
Doc be referred to a
cardiologist. Then had
an echo (first in 10+
years). Echo suggested
need for mitral valve
replacement. Had
Cardiolyte test end of
May. Then Angiogram June
12th,
followed by surgery June
13th.
What symptoms you
had:
Atrial Fib, Mitral valve
regurg, weakness, low
blood pressure, CHF
(pulmonary edema,
dependent edema).
How you prepared
for surgery:
Didn’t have much time to
even think about it.
Wife of 44 years was
most encouraging for
surgery.
What type of
surgery you had:
Mitral valve
replacement, Maze
procedure, debulking of
calcium deposits around
the mitral annulus
Medications before
surgery:
On coumadin, lanoxin,
vasotec for years, past
few months diuretics (turosemide,
spironolactone), Beta
blocker,
Medications after
surgery:
The above (digoxin,
toresemide, vasotec,
coumadin), potassium,
amiodarone, sleeping
pill prn, pain rx prn
(don’t need), glaucoma
eye meds
Type of valve you
have:
pig tissue
Type of valve you
had:
leaky
Hospital where
your surgery was done:
Scripps Memorial in La
Jolla, CA
Your experience
there:
5 nights in Cardiac Care
unit, 5 nights in
regular hospital room,
then 10 nights at a care
center (convalescent).
Your first few
days home:
Slept most of the first
day. Having trouble with
incontinence
(urine)-diuretics really
working.
Your recovery
since then:
One day at a time. Just
got home yesterday.
Daughter Ann bought
small weights and ankle
weights. Keeping a diary
on walking.
(Details will
be most helpful to
others)
How you found out
about this site:
surfing the internet
Any other comments
you can share:
(Ann): I went to see my
mother and father in the
hospital on the day of
the Angiogram. The
cardiac surgeon had met
my dad for the first
time that morning. He
suggested to my mom and
dad that they postpone
the surgery a week so
they could “think about
it” (meaning it looked
like it was going to be
very risky considering
my dad’s age and overall
weakness). However,
after the angiogram, he
changed his mind about
postponing the surgery
and then went ahead for
the next day after the
angiogram. This was a
very scary moment for
me, since one
cardiologist was saying,
“go for surgery” and the
surgeon was saying well,
maybe this isn’t a good
idea…
Surgery was supposed to
have taken 4-5 hours but
he was in there for 6,
probably due to the Maze
procedure and that his
heart rhythm wasn’t
acceptable right after
being taken off the
cardiopulmonary bypass
machine. He also stayed
in the Cardiac Care Unit
2-3 days longer
(probably because of the
Maze procedure). There
was also fluid
accumulation in the
lungs (not pulmonary
edema but too much
secretions he couldn’t
cough out). He had his
bronchi suctioned out a
few days after surgery.
Currently, my dad had
dependent edema and gets
short of breath easily.
I've been thinking of
buying him balloons for
lung exercises. He's
also had trouble with
balance. He said that
he really didn't hurt
much after the surgery
and hasn't really been
taking the pain
killers. He's needed
some of the sleeping
pills mostly because he
has been napping so much
during the day.
Today he mentioned being
a bit depressed-been 3
weeks since surgery and
his progress seems
"slow". I already read
about the post surgical
depression and even
checked out the book
recommended. I'll
probably go ahead and
order a copy tomorrow.
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