No luck finding a Cardio-Surgeon so far to operate on me....
 

I just got this recent opinion from a very creditable doctor on what my chances are,unfortunately it obviously wasn't what I had hoped but it's truthful and that's what I respect about him......

The blockages are pretty high up, and when they occlude, it will impact large portions of your heart. That makes it an almost gotta do. That is the coronary artery bypass part.The troubling part is the aortic root involvement. If he can swing a graft around that part, you should be good to go. This is the troubling part: I believe your doc is concerned about getting in there only to find out that the aortic graft can't be done. The tissues will be very friable ( weakened), and delicate to the point that nothing can be attached. The walls of the aorta become hardened, and break instead of flexing. These little pieces are what flow downstream to create other issues. It also makes it difficult to suture things to.

There is a lot to think about here. If all goes well, you will feel a lot better. Your cardiac ejection fraction of 40% is not all that bad, mine was less than 10% at one point. You will see changes in the amount of fatigue you feel. More blood flow will make a big difference in how you feel.

The ultimate fix here, would be a heart lung transplant. I don't know if he has talked about that much , but it could be an option if all else is good.

I was turned down by the chief cardio surgeon at the hospital I was at because he said he didn't have the equipment necessary for a "Off Pump" Coronary Bypass.... That simply means the heart will be beating thru out the surgery and the heart-lung machine will not be used.......I'm going to see the chief surgeon of cardio surgery in southern Louisiana tomorrow and see if he'll take me.......If not,there is a brother who has offered to help me here in Mississippi who knows the cardio surgeons in Biloxi-Gulfport and hopefully I'll find one who won't feel my operation is too risky...

Big Teddy

Hang tough, Bro.

Prayers out

Prayers out, remember what it took to be a QP, be positive & never stop fighting.

Stay strong, Sir

Big T, got my wife praying for you, God seems to listen to her....hold fast brother.

Prayers out that everything all falls into place with the operation, QP.

I'm praying it all works out BT. Have you contacted any other cardio specialists out of state to see if that's a viable option?

Big Teddy,

It'll happen. Keep those positive thoughts. It's always good to have a Brother in your back-up plans!

Best of luck Teddy.

Hallelujah,I've found my surgeon....... The man himself(chief cardiac-surgeon) is taking it on......He said he's not going to delegate it because his 3 surgeons don't have enough experience for my operation...... The aortic valve is 2/3 calcified which means he can't use that section because it can't be sutured and can break off and cause serious other problems,but he's got 1/3 that isn't and that's where he intends to put all "5 bypasses" and have a safe area in which to suture them...He said the total operation will take between 7 to 7 1/2 hours if all goes right....... He told Maggie it's a very high risk problem and she should be prepared.......I think he was just covering himself in case it doesn't go down successfully...... "Off pump" coronary bypass surgery isn't your run of the mill kind of surgery,but thank GOD it is available and he has done 6 in his career and 5 have been successful...... Well my day is made,my operation date is next friday at 7:30 am and I hope to get on our forum asap after it's over.......De Oppresso Liber....;) :D

Big Teddy :munchin

So you won't be needing that short list of marine biologists/surgeons after all...

Good news, gird your loins, and get ready to dance. Prayers out to you and the Misses.

MR2

By all means keep that list available,he may need a consult........;) :D

Big Teddy :munchin

Good news about the Doctor taking you on. Please remain positive and know you are on a lot of prayer lists. :)

Hallelujah is right, that's great news BT! Prayers UP and on the way. Sound like you have the right mind set for this. Keep it up!

-HG