Upcoming mitral valve replacement

  Hi.  I have posted questions here before and I have appreciated your information very much and found it very helpful.  As of now I am definately going to be having my mitral valve replaced by a mechanical in the next month or so.  I have chosen the St. Judes valve and feel very comfortable with that choice.  I have been gathering information on what to expect so that I will be calm and accepting of things as I go along.  (For me I find if I know what to expect I am o.k. when it happens.)  There are a couple of things that I have heard which I would appreciate confirmation on.
  1) For the first couple of days after the surgery you have a breathing tube down your throat.  Is this true?
  2)  After the surgery there will be drainage tubes in the lungs.  Is this true?  
  These are not huge life or death things but as I said I like to know exactly what to expect.  Thank you very much for your time.

[CCF Cardio MD - MTR]

Dear Beverly, thank you for your question.  Nathan's personal testimonial thoroughly describes the post-operative recovery from open-heart surgery.  Generally, an endotracheal tube (breathing tube) is present for only 12-24 hours after the surgery as the anesthesia is wearing off.  Chest tubes are inserted during the surgery to collect fluid and blood that may accumulate in the thoracic cavity after surgery.  These chest tubes usually are removed 1-2 days after the surgery before the patient leaves the ICU.  I'm pleased to hear that the heart forum has helped with your decision regarding valve replacement surgery.  Best of luck!
I hope you find this information useful.  Information provided in the heart forum is for general purposes only.  Only your physician can provide specific diagnoses and therapies. Please feel free to write back with additional questions.  Good luck!
If you would like to make an appointment at the Cleveland Clinic Heart Center, please call 1-800-CCF-CARE or inquire online by using the Heart Center website at www.ccf.org/heartcenter.   The Heart
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