OT: Fran Update

To Those Following This "General Hospital" Soap Opera:
    I thought Fran was out of the woods, but it seems she's been transported by helicopter back into the middle of the forest.     The hospital called me to get permission to give Fran a cardiology test. It seems they think she's got an infection of the heart and a malfunctioning mitral valve.     Replacing a mitral valve is open heart surgery, and is more serious than her first operation.     I'm going over the the hospital now (38 miles one way), to see what's going on.

BottleBob wrote:
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Yikes BB. Good luck to you both.

Bill Roberto wrote:
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Bill:
    Thanks. I'll tell ya, I don't recommend getting old.

On Thu, 04 Dec 2008 11:32:17 -0800, BottleBob
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------------ Sorry to hear this. The good news is that they were able to identify the problem. Good luck to both of you.
Unka' George [George McDuffee] ------------------------------------------- He that will not apply new remedies, must expect new evils: for Time is the greatest innovator: and if Time, of course, alter things to the worse, and wisdom and counsel shall not alter them to the better, what shall be the end?
Francis Bacon (1561-1626), English philosopher, essayist, statesman. Essays, "Of Innovations" (1597-1625).

F. George McDuffee wrote:
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Unka' George:
    Thanks for the well wishes.
    I'm not sure they've identified the problem yet. They didn't give her the cardiac test, since they had to sedate her. Maybe tomorrow.

BottleBob wrote:
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I haven't been following; but it sounds like a rough road. Naturally, my best wishes and hope for good outcomes for both of you.
With regard to your comment that you "don't recommend getting old.": I once had a good friend, who lived to 92, who was fond of saying that old age is nothing to complain about. It's a privilege that too many people never get to experience.
Live long and prosper, together.
KG

Kirk Gordon wrote:
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Kirk:          What? You missed the Chick vise thread? Lots of juicy stuff in there, if you ignore the bickering.
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    Thanks.
    I still don't recommend getting old, but the alternative isn't too hot either. <g>
    

BottleBob wrote:
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Bob, Ouch. Hope they may have an alternative or two up their sleeve to at least let her catch her breath from the first surgery. I wonder if she picked up the infection from her surgery. Hospitals are germ wards!
I hope all turns out well!
Best, Steve



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Fingers crossed, dude.
Be aware that the care that Fran gets will be directly proportional to your presence AND nuisance factor -- squeaky paranoid wheels.
It motivates them to dot i's and cross t's, some of which can often be very important. *Tons* of silly errors are made in hospitals, almost all of them swept under the rug. Good help is truly hard to find -- anywhere.
There are exceptional docs floating around, and I fortunately had one for my neck, but most should be working for minimum wage. They bat about 20%.
Don't forget to smuggle in the vits.... :)

Proctologically Violated©® wrote:
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PV:
    Thanks.
    That's one hypothesis. Another might be that they might give minimum or haphazard care just to spite the meddlesome know-it-all husband - teach him a lesson and show him who's REALLY in charge.
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    Yeah, and have them leak out the stitches in her intestine. :)

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Well, this might be true if you were a raving irritant, jb-style. But I mean letting them know basically that someone sane and rational is watching/enquiring -- makes a diff.
Would be inneresting to see if there was some causality between the last procedure and recent events. It's weird how the heart can be vulnerable to infection. Is the malfunctioning valve independent of the infection, or linked? Seems odd that both should occur together *and* be independent. If linked, mebbe clearing up the infection will help the valve.
Hang in there.

Proctologically Violated©® wrote:
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PV:
    Excuse me, did you mean pv-style? :)
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    It's probably kinda like if a machinist was working on a customers part. Said customer knowing virtually nothing about machining but irritatingly asking questions AND trying to advise the experienced machinist in just how to go about doing his job.     This brings to mind a little tid-bit.
Sign in machine shop: Shop rate: $65 an hour If you watch $75 an hour If you advise $95 an hour.
    
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    Well, Fran has suffered an attack of congestive heart failure before.
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    I'll try. I may not be good company for awhile though.

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Best of luck, BottleBob. It's very tough to watch someone you love in such a difficult situation...
Toolpost

Toolpost wrote:
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Toolpost:
    Thanks. Yeah, major stress that's for sure.

BottleBob wrote:
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I'm with ya on that one. These people are professionals. If you had a customer looking over your shoulder, being a nuisance, would you do *YOUR* best work?
We all hate people telling us, as professionals, HOW to do our job. I doubt they appreciate it any more than we do.
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Here's hoping for a full and speedy recovery for Fran. Take it easy Bob! Thanks for the update. Keep us informed of her progress please.
Thanks.

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Well, don't want to hijack threads, but prints are different than bodies. You are not so much telling them how, but just making sure they DO their job -- without taking out the wrong organ, or giving the wrong blood (which is easily fatal), etc.
Le Wife is a medium-size shot at our local hosp. She is absolutely terrified of hospitals, and her own hospital almost killed her -- no hyperbole, no exaggeration. Quite a story. Pity she is so un-litigious. What I hear at the end of each day would wobble yer mind.
Don't confuse the relative unambiguity of engineering/machining with medicine. These "professionals" you refer to are in a perpetual fog, choosing their info/beliefs in the midst of substantial conflicts of interest.
Not saying they are bad, or even stupid, just that the "informational stakes" generally exceed the ability -- and integrity -- of the avg doc -- who is there essentially for a paycheck. And the privilege of driving an effing Benz, of course. Which speaks effing volumes.
Forewarned is foreskinned... I mean, armed.

Steve Mackay wrote:
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Steve:
    Updates/Details-R-Us. They're going to do what's called a TEE test Transesophageal Echocardiogram.
=============================================================What Is a Transesophageal Echocardiogram?
This test allows the cardiologist to view the internal structures of the heart and the heart's major vessels by inserting a probe (a thin flexible tube with a special tip) down the throat. The patient is sedated so he will be relaxed and unaware of any discomfort during the procedure. An IV line will be started so a sedative can be given by the nurse. A monitor will be placed on the patient's finger so that the amount of oxygen in his blood can be monitored continuously throughout the procedure. The patient will be positioned on his left side so that the probe can be inserted through the mouth into the esophagus. A liquid anesthetic is given to the patient to gargle. This will numb the throat and tongue and make the probe easier to swallow. The patient will be instructed to take several deep breaths to help relax the muscles in the back of the throat so the probe can be swallowed more easily. The patient may gag a little as the probe is inserted but will be unaware of this due to being sedated. Suctioning to decrease the secretions in the mouth and throat may be needed. The tip of the probe sends out sound waves (ultrasound) that echo within the chest wall cavity. These echoes are picked up and create a picture of the heart that is displayed on the video monitor. This test lasts 60-90 minutes. ================================================================    Depending on the results of the TEE, the BIG decision is whether to open heart surgery to replace the mitral valve.
==================================================================http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mitral_valve_replacement
Postoperative Complications/ Risks     A common postoperative complication with mitral valve surgery in a study involving 99 patients who had surgery for mitral regurgitation from January 1990 to June 1996 is atrial fibrillation. This occurred in 32% of patients. A common pulmonary complication is congestion necessitating prolonged use of oxygen. Other patients required prolonged ventilation of longer than 24 hours for conditions like pulmonary edema, ARDS, and pulmonary thromboemboli[15]. Nine patients had renal failure with six of them dying within 30 days after their operation. Five patients had permanent strokes, and nine patients were readmitted to the hospital within 30 days of their discharge[15]. ==================================================================    So there's a 9% chance of kidney failure - with death being the outcome in 6%. 5% chance of coming through the operation but having a permanent stroke. And 9% had to be readmitted. Risky procedure.

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Bob,
Sorry to hear about the latest developments. Hopefully as I get further down the posts things will have taken a turn for the better.
If it comes to valve replacement, I've worked with a number of companies in this field and IMHO these are the guys you want to buy a heart valve from - http://www.sjm.com/ I don't know if you are given choices in these situations but this company is obsessive with insuring that their processes and quality are nothing less than the best. So much so that they bought far more expensive machines to machine the carbon valves based solely on the accuracy of the equipment. They even hired a consulting engineer to evaluate the various machine tool designs.
They also did extensive testing and documentation up front and they have a program in place where the machines are evaluated regularly against the original base line.
In other words they were a giant pain in the ass to deal with. But if they were putting a heart valve in my wife or me, I wouldn't have it any other way.
I've been in other medical companies where I wouldn't want their stuff used in cattle. Thankfully one of them was sued out of existance a while back.
The good news is that we live in an age where replacing a heart valve is commonplace and outcomes are generally very good. And there are loads of people refining the products and improving the processes and procedures used every day. So while it is still major surgery you can be confident that the products used and the procedures are very safe and work well.
Good luck to you and yor wife.

D Murphy wrote:
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Dan:
    Jeeze, I left out not just one word, but two words, to have that sentence make sense. I must be more preoccupied than I thought.
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    I'll call the hospital tomorrow for the results of the test. But truthfully, I'm leaning toward Fran not having the surgery unless absolutely necessary. Too risky to just eliminate the occasional occurrence of shortness of breath.
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    That's quite the bit of legerdemain, turning an off topic thread back to being machining related. The sign of a true metal-head for sure. :)
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    I appreciate your concern.