Valve Replacement Surgery - Yikes! Lung Fluid Drained With A Needle!

It's now been five weeks since my double valve repair surgery. I had my fifth follow-up appointment with Dr. Blake, my Cardiologist today.

My concerns are that I'm still exhausted most of the time. I also get winded (short of breath easily). My hands, arches, and calves cramp (probably from the heavy doses of diuretics). And, my right lower lung area still hurts like the dickens. These are all probably common complications of the open heart surgery, however, I wanted Dr. Blake to lay out a plan for resolving them.

Dr. Blake said that she has been hoping that the diuretics would completely get rid of the fluid on my lower right lung. However, she said, you might just be one of those people where the fluid needs to be drained off with a needle.

Hey now, I've already been poked, prodded, and cut on enough to last a life time, and the idea of aspirating that lower right lung area with a long needle is a little disconcerting to say the least. Dr. Levy, the surgeon who performed my open heart surgery would be the one to drain the fluid.

I'm to see Dr. Levy, the Surgeon, next week for a follow-up, but before I see him, I'll have yet another chest xray and and "echo" to see if the fluid is still present. I'm hoping that the by then that lung area will be dry as an old desert bone.

Dr. Blake said to take recovery one day at a time. "On days you feel really tired, just take it easy, probably in the next day or so you will feel better, and you'll be able to push yourself a little more." There are three causes of my fatigue: 1. Fluid on right lung. 2. Fixed Atrial Fib. 3. Pericarditis (inflamed sac around heart).

The Atrial Fib, hopefully, will be resolved by the Maze Procedure, but that takes 3 months for the scar tissue to form enough to block the haywire electrical which causes my A-Fib. Also, most likely, 3 months post surgery, I'll have another cardioversion (a mild shock to the heart that puts the heart back into a normal rhythm).

She increased the Spironolactone (Potassium saving diuretic) to three 25MG tablets twice daily, which should allow me to leave off the evening dose of Furosemide (Potassium draining diuretic). These adjustments should keep me from retaining fluid, and should gradually bring my electrolytes back into balance which should eliminate the cramping.

I'm still weighing myself every morning to see if I'm gaining any weight. Checking your weight everyday is key to determining if you're starting to retain fluid.

All-in-all, I think Dr. Blake is happy with my progress. To her, my concerns are just small routine complications to deal with, to me, right now, they are limiting my life. Patience has never been a virtue of mine, can you tell?

Went to rehab this afternoon. Again tried to get off the oxygen during exercise. No such luck today. The exercise physiologist had to bring the oxygen after only a couple of minutes on the treadmill. I can't say I wasn't disappointed, but at least I didn't tear-up and bawl.