The Big Day - The Surgery

So, during the ICU class, I found out that the first incision was at 8:05 am and that the major portion of the surgery began at 9:45 am. During the class, the nurse indicated that the surgery would probably take 5 hours AFTER the "major portion" began...meaning 2:45 pm. Imagine my surprise when I was called to meet with Dr. Svensson at 11:05!!!

Beth and I went up to the appointed office and waited...and waited...about 15 minutes a volunteer named Herb came up to us and asked how our procedure was going? It took a few minutes to convince Herb that Beth was not the patient, but once we got that straightened out, he appeared to really NEED to help us with something. Lovely tea, hot chocolate...he finally moved on, but it was an awkward moment.

About 11:40 Dr. Svensson showed up and we sat down. He said everything went well, exactly as planned. He told us about Barb's calcified valve, which was somewhat worse than originally thought, but not to worry, he put in a "size 25 cow valve", which is a little larger than normal, but this is better, in case a subsequent valve needs to be put in. He also said that they put in a longer tube than anticipated to include more of the arch area of the aorta. This was due to the fact that the aortic wall was much softer than he originally thought it would be...meaning closer to rupture than he thought in the assessment. All in all, he thought it went very well, and that full, prompt recovery is likely. - Gil