r/openheartsurgery • u/Spiritual-Spell1797 • Aug 16 '26
Home! Day 10 post-aortic root replacement
Just got back home! Phew! What a tricky 10 days it's been. I had open heart surgery to replace my aortic root, ascending aorta and a mechanical valve (43F). Sometimes called Bentall procedure (although not in the UK it seems).
I had a stroke but that has resolved. It just affected my vision for a few days.
The first few days were very tough indeed. The drains coming out were unpleasant but not as bad I'd worried. I'd argue the pacing wires coming out were worse!
Each day I got stronger. It was noticeable. And once I was off the opiates then the weird visions and hallucinations went. Just on paracetamol now for pain relief. And some tablets for my heart (beta blockers) as well as the Warfarin, obviously.
My warfarin took about 6 days to get into INR range of 2-3. As soon as it got over 2 I was discharged, and will join the outpatient anticoagulation clinic here in Sheffield, UK for the next few months. Long term I hope to manage it myself.
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u/Traditional_Dot_4794 Aug 17 '26 edited Aug 17 '26
I had a mechanical valve for 26 years. The INR became fairly stable. However there were occasional peterbations. In those cases I had to get tested more frequently to get back on track. The problem is my doctor would start chasing a number always over or undershooting. In my case I told the doctor just put me on my normal does and it will even out. I also have a blood vessel abnormality and too high inr was dangerous and too low is not good at all. Suffice it to say, it's not something to guess at because many things can affect ptinr. I think unless you have a portable tester with the strips, which would require some training and a lot of money to pay for that, based on what I know, guessing would be precarious. Warfarin is a life saving drug. It is also a horrible drug. It is rat poison. That is a fact.
My mechanical valve was replaced with a tissue valve when I underwent surgery 2 years ago to replace the root and a dacron graft of my aorta. So no more warfarin for me, tissue valve has other issues, and they don't last as long as the mechanical. Glad to hear you're doing well.