|
open heart surgery
im 17 years old and i have to have open heart surgery. i has ASD which is atrial septal deffect. in the top two atriums of my heart, i have no wall. the tissue is completely gone. they may have to take out my top two ribs, and break my chest bone. im really scared and the only person i have to tell is 5 hours away. my bf. oh yeah, not to mention. i'm pregnant. but my mom and doctors don't know that. how do i deal with all of this. im not supposed to be stressed out.
[ ]
Want to answer more questions in the Health & Fitness category?
Maybe give some free advice about: Health?
to calm down listen to music, maybe write down the emotions that your feeling in a journal, talk to one of your friends. Before your surgery you might want to tell your doctor that your pregnant. This also might be a more conviniant time to tell your parents, since there probrably feeling pretty bad for you right now =]
good luck
]
Hi. I have read up a little about open heart surgery in relation to ASD from a medical encyclopedia some years back now (I was bored so decided to read a medical encyclopedia). :/ Anyway, first and foremost like ygsgirl had said - you MUST tell your doctor about being pregnant asap! This is VERY important so please do this as soon as you possibly can! Also, telling your mom would be a very good idea. You can do this with your bf there if you prefer and if it will make it easier or do so yourself but I think your mom may prefer to know through you instead of being told by your doctor. As ygsgirl had also said, it will be a great weight off of your chest to let her know too.
As for the operation itself, 'open' heart surgery generally refers to any kind of operation where the chest cavity is opened up to perform an operation on the heart (and doesn't refer specificaly to the actual heart being opened up - depending on the type of surgery to be performed). ygsgirl pretty much summed up what to expect in the operation but feel free to ask for details and questions to your doctor, it's they they are there for. :] I know it's easy for everyone to say not to worry but still, try not to. :] They do these operations many times and they are professionals - you'll be in very safe hands. :]
]
Well, first and foremost, you HAVE to tell your doctor that you are pregnant. That makes surgery a whole different ball game. There are a lot of certain risks involved if you don't tell the doctor that you are pregnant.
I can't tell you how to not be stressed. I, for one, know that if I were in your shoes, I would be uncontrollably nervous about the surgery. I mean, this is a big surgery, as you well know. But keep in mind that they do these kinds of surgeries ALL THE TIME, so you aren't alone in this.
Also, they usually have to spread your ribs (by means of breaking the breast bone), and the like, to be able to get into your chest cavity to preform open heart surgery. They do these things ALL THE TIME and have for many years, so you aren't alone in this, either.
But I can tell you how to reduce the stress of your hidden pregnancy- STOP HIDING IT. You need to come clean about it. Telling your mom will be a weight off your chest, and I doubt she'll wig out on you too much, considering she knows you need to keep low stress levels.
YOU MUST TELL YOUR DOCTOR! You can't hide something like that when preparing for surgery.
Good luck with your surgery, and please follow my advice by coming clean about the baby, ok?
ygs-29/f
**EDIT** I got to thinking, and thought I would add a little more detail about the whole rib thing.
See, they have to have some way of getting to your heart to preform the surgery by either:
A. Remove the two ribs, or
B. Break the breast plate and spread the rib cage open. Like I said, they do this all the time, and have done so for many years.
I know that all sounds grizzly, but try not to stress on it, ok? It's just something they have to do in order to get to your heart. If they didn't have to do that, they likely wouldn't.
ygs
]
Well the first and most important thing is the pregnancy. They won't want to put you under anesthesia for the length of time that you will be under for the surgery. It will harm the fetus. If you think you want to have this baby, and put off the surgery, I am afraid that your heart, because of the ASD will not be able to withstand the stress of the pregnancy.
Here is the bottom line......
You are not going to survive without this surgery. You can be stubborn and say you want to put off the surgery because of the baby, and the doctors and even your parents, may have to HONOR your decision (depends on what state you live in.)
But you may not survive the pregnancy. Your parents, Wow, what kind of dilema are they in? It is possible you may not survive this surgery, but they know it is your only chance. If you don't survive, they will loose you and any future chance of loving your child, their grandchild. If you forego the surgery, until after the pregnancy, you may not survive, and they may loose you, but gain a grandchild.
You need all the best medical information available in order to make an informed decision. Of course you;re scared and who wouldn't be. You should be scared. None of it is your fault though, and today doctors save the lives of many many young people with heart conditions.
If it were me, and even if I were your parent, I would want you to have an abortion, and go through the surgery, and survive, so that you have some chance at a normal life in the future.
One thing is for sure, the date of the surgery may be put off until you have made a decision about the baby. Use that time to educate yourself about your condition and what the best treatment is. I am sure that there is a lot of information over the internet about Atrial Septal Defect. Google it, and you'll see.
I wish you luck and will say some prayers for you.
Michele
]
More Questions: |