Chris spoke to nurse Jennifer and Dr. Gomez-Abraham {Dr. G} while I was out running errands this morning. Here's what he relayed to me:
Dr. G recommends that Chris' ascending aorta be replaced, along with the repair of the valve. He said he could do it in two weeks, but Chris felt that was too soon. Dr. G is going to be in Europe at a conference for about 2 weeks, but he could do the surgery in the beginning of May when he returns. Chris agreed to that.
Dr. G said that Chris can't do peritoneal dialysis (PD) during the heart surgery, so he'll have to do the hemodialysis during that time. We'll work with Jennifer to transition to the blood dialysis when the time comes.
Chris will have to be in the intensive care unit in Salt Lake City for several days and in the hospital a total of 7 to 14 days while recovering from the surgery. General recovery at home will take about five or six months, if the patient is in good health. Patients are advised not to do any heavy lifting for 6 months after surgery, to avoid damage to the sternum (the breast bone).
At the beginning of next week, Dr. G will call us again with more information. At that time, I hope to get an exact surgery date so I can get everything coordinated with insurance, travel, etc. I'll post an update as soon as we know anything further.
Not sure whether/when Chris could go back to the peritoneal dialysis (PD) after the heart surgery. Need to find out about that.
Tomorrow at 9am is Chris' ultrasound on the catheter site from the angio. It's still hurting.
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