Brain trauma, result of surgery?

My mom has just gone through open hart surgery.  The surgery went well.  However my mom mentally is not my mom.  She has slowed or slurred spech, she seems to have little or no short term memory,  she recognizes people form the family,  but when you ask her simple questions like
what is the name of your cat, she gets confused.  This is day 6 since the surgery.  I am concerned
something neurological has happened to her brain as a result of the surgery.  My mom is 67 and older patients that are in the hosipital seem to be in much better shape mentally then she is.  My mom didn't have any problems thinking or talking before the surgery.  Do you think she is having some reaction to the anasthesia? Do you know of any other patients that had memory trouble or slight retardation after major surgery?

[Godofredo MD]

Hi.

All surgical procedures have risks of complications. For open heart surgery, the complications that have been reported to occur include stroke, systemic inflammatory response, air/fat embolism, bleeding, allergic reaction to anesthesia, heart attack, arrhythmias, and kidney or lung dysfunction.

The symptoms exhibited by your mother seem to suggest stroke as a surgical complication. You should talk to her surgeon about this so that her condition can be managed properly.

Good luck.

[Caliber2005]

Hi,
I feel sorry for your mom.
Ideally, cardiothoracic surgery is done on a motionless and "bloodless" heart.
Complications of CPB fall into five major areas: cardiovascular, hematologic, renal, pulmonary, and neurologic.
As symptoms you have described are neurological in nature, we will discuss about neurological issue.
One of the most catastrophic insults that can occur following open-heart surgery is a stroke. About 2% of patients undergoing CPB experience a stroke, with 5% to 20% of those patients retaining some degree of neurocognitive deficit 3 to 6 months after surgery. Most strokes occur in the first 24 to 48 hours postoperatively.
Strokes following CPB are usually embolic and ischemic. The emboli themselves may originate in several ways: as particulate matter in the CPB circuitry (resulting from disrupted atherosclerotic plaque in the aorta during cross-clamping or cannulation), as air bubbles in the CPB circuitry, as material dislodged from carotid artery plaques, or from disruption of clots in the left atrium or ventricle.
It does not seem to be any anesthesia related issue.
Hope this helps and you can talk to surgeon about this.