Open Heart Surgery

• by scadnama
• 2009-08-10 11:08:05
• General Posting
• 2338 views
• 9 comments

Hello friends!

I posted about Superior Vena Cava (SVC) Syndrome that was diagnosed during an ablation about a month ago. At first, my doctors were going to try and correct this issue with a venoplasty. After doing lots of research, and talking to some of our fellow members who have been in my same situation, I decided to talk things over with my doctor again.

My cardiologist has been great. He listened to my concerns, and has worked very closely with me over the last few weeks. We decided that it would be in my best interest to meet with a cardiac surgeon to discuss our options for getting this problem under control. I met the surgeon last Monday, and after careful thought, we all decided that open heart surgery would be the best solution.

Considering the location and complexity of the blockage to my SVC, open heart surgery is the only method that won’t require multiple procedures. The surgeon is going to bypass the blockage, much like bypass surgery for clogged arteries. An artificial graft will be used to re-route and establish appropriate blood flow.

In most cases, a stent would be used to repair this problem, but because my pacemaker leads run through the SVC, it is not an option. Performing this surgery will allow my current leads to more than likely stay in place…we won’t know for sure though until the surgeon gets a closer look at things. Since my chest has to be opened up for this procedure, the surgeon is going to go ahead and put in an extra set of leads. From now on, any new leads that I require will have to be placed epicardially (outside the heart). My current leads may be fine, but he is going to implant these just in case, and it will save me from having to have surgery again later on down the road if my leads ever need to be replaced.

Overall, I am pleased with this decision. Considering the complications and success rates of the other options that we discussed, this really seems like the most feasible solution. But, needless to say, I am still very nervous. I have never broken a bone in my body, and now I am going to intentionally allow someone to break my sternum on purpose!

Surgery is scheduled for this Thursday, August 13. Please keep me in your thoughts and prayers.

Thanks,
Amanda