Anybody facing a major medical procedure has questions. It is a brilliant idea to get them answered before the procedure so that you will be informed and not quite as nervous about what’s going to happen. If you and your family & friends are comfortable, it makes the whole process a little easier. If you’re going to have heart valve replacement, you should ask your doctor for all the details about what is going to happen before, during, and after the surgery so you can prepare yourself and know what should be expected.

Before your heart valve replacement, youwill get hitched up to an IV, and you’ll have to get rid of any jewellery, glasses, dentures, contacts, and hearing aids. Fundamentally, anything that you are wearing that can be removed. The anesthesiologist and the doctor will talk to you about what is going to happen, and you’ll be given a sedative.

See also : mitral valve prolapse

In the op, you’ll be anesthetized. You will be hitched up to a heart lung machine which will take over for these organs so the doctor can perform the heart valve replacement using either a mechanical or tissue valve. In order to do this they’re going to have to cut open your sternum to access your heart. Once the old valve is removed and the new one stitched in, theywill unfasten you from the heart lung machine and kick off your own heart up again. Your breastbone will be wired back together and your incision will be stitched up.

When you wake up from your heart valve replacement surgery, you will be hooked up to all kinds of tubes and wires, including one down your throat to help breath, a catheter, an IV for medicine, and tubes near your heart to cut back the fluids from this area that are left over from the surgery. Once you are awake and able to breathe on your own the tube down your throat will be removed, and the others will be removed as you get better. You should expect to spend a couple days in the ICU, and then more time in a cardiac surgical floor till you are recovered enough to come home. However, even if you come home you’ll still not be back to your old self. This could take approximately six to 8 weeks of gradual healing. You will continue to be on medicine as well you need to take, and you’ll need to go to the doctor from time to time for monitoring of your condition.

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