Yesterday my mom went to surgery to have a hole in her heart repaired. I can't remember what the procedure was called but it went smoothly and so far my mom isn't in any pain and goes home this morning! Yay! It wasn't anything major like open-heart surgery, which a lot of doctors use to fix this, I guess. They went up through her femoral artery using a catheter and plugged the hole in her heart using an umbrella shaped device. The heart will now grow over the device and close like it should have. Did you know that it's very common for people to have holes in their hearts? That at birth, sometimes that hole just doesn't close up. And it's genetic, this thing of my mom's. Yay for us.
My mom would have been able to watch the entire procedue and see the inside of her own heart! Why didn't she? She fell asleep!! She was so mad, ha ha. The doctor, Dr. Sorensen at the Heart and Lung Center at Murray IHC, does these ALL THE TIME. In fact, he's the most sought after doctor for this procedure (so if you know anyone....he's really really good). In surgery, they are better able to see the hole and they had to go bigger in the 'plug' to close up the hole, which was a little bigger than a 50 cent piece. Wow!! He said he hadn't seen a hole that big in a really long time. The device only goes up to 35 mm and my mom's was a 30!
My mom is really excited to be on the mend now. The way this hole had affected her for nearly 28 years (yes folks, that's how old I am and yes, it started after she had me) has something to do about the lack of oxygen to her brain and the way the blood was pumped. She apparently had migraines she didn't know of AND, most scary, it caused her several mini-strokes. She always thought that she was just sick and that it took her extra long to get back to normal (clear head, balance, equilibrium, etc), but I guess those really bad times were mini strokes and this last one was her biggest of all...which is what prompted her to see an Ears, Nose, Throat specialist, who in turn were able to determine that it was one of four things and by seeing other specialists, this was discovered and now she is looking forward to having her head & health back. As we all are :)
I'm soooo glad things went smoothly. Any procedure, even the simplist, can be scary when it's on one you love. My nephew has had several procedures where they go up through the femoral artery. The body is pretty amazing and so is medical science. Hope your mom continues to mend.
ReplyDeleteMy sister Ashley works there and works for that doctor! She is an echotech. She actually had this same exact procedure done and was having a lot of the same problems. It is crazy how simple it is - I mean it is the heart! I am glad you mom is doing better.
ReplyDeleteIf you ever have any of the same problems get checked out. I guess a lot of people walk around with holes and never even know it!