Surgery Update 2
We just got word from the operating room that things are going well. They finally got through the scar tissue from the previous surgery and began the procedures. Deanne took the call and the nurse told her that they started the valve repair. She was surprised and asked if the banding on the pulmonary artery was completed. The nurse told her that the surgeon decided to do the valve repair first. Ha! Here is when I get to be as smart as a heart surgeon...at least for little while.
When the surgeon told me this morning what he was going to do (banding first then the valve repair) it was a little after 7:00 AM. Deanne wasn't there yet and my brain was trying to function on about 5 hours of sleep. So about 30 minutes after he left, I thought to myself, "Why is he doing the arterial banding first? He should do the valve repair first." I know I am not a brain surgeon, rocket scientist or heart surgeon, but in my logic, it should be the other way around. If this was a typical plumbing repair, and the banding restriction is "downstream" from valve which is controlling the flow, I would want to get that valve repaired first so I had the correct volume and pressure in the line. Then I could figure out the proper size of the fitting needed on the outlet. Logical stuff.
As Deanne and I were sitting in the waiting area, the two cardiologists who we really like and have been involved in Gideon's case pretty closely, were just walking by and stopped to chat. They asked if we had any questions so I asked about the order of the surgical procedures citing my vast plumbing experience and making the obvious conclusion that principles and dynamics of plumbing should also apply to heart surgery. After all of us had a little chuckle at the analogy, they put some thought into my question, then looked at each other with puzzled looks on their face. The senior cardiologist told me it was a good thought, then tried to stammer out an explanation as to why the surgeon is doing it in the other order. It didn't sound very solid, but we respect these two and we accepted it. But when the call came from the operating room informing us that the surgeon decided to do the valve repair first, Deanne had to smile at her brilliant husband.
When the surgeon told me this morning what he was going to do (banding first then the valve repair) it was a little after 7:00 AM. Deanne wasn't there yet and my brain was trying to function on about 5 hours of sleep. So about 30 minutes after he left, I thought to myself, "Why is he doing the arterial banding first? He should do the valve repair first." I know I am not a brain surgeon, rocket scientist or heart surgeon, but in my logic, it should be the other way around. If this was a typical plumbing repair, and the banding restriction is "downstream" from valve which is controlling the flow, I would want to get that valve repaired first so I had the correct volume and pressure in the line. Then I could figure out the proper size of the fitting needed on the outlet. Logical stuff.
As Deanne and I were sitting in the waiting area, the two cardiologists who we really like and have been involved in Gideon's case pretty closely, were just walking by and stopped to chat. They asked if we had any questions so I asked about the order of the surgical procedures citing my vast plumbing experience and making the obvious conclusion that principles and dynamics of plumbing should also apply to heart surgery. After all of us had a little chuckle at the analogy, they put some thought into my question, then looked at each other with puzzled looks on their face. The senior cardiologist told me it was a good thought, then tried to stammer out an explanation as to why the surgeon is doing it in the other order. It didn't sound very solid, but we respect these two and we accepted it. But when the call came from the operating room informing us that the surgeon decided to do the valve repair first, Deanne had to smile at her brilliant husband.
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