Is High End Audio catchin' up with you all?

@mijostyn all in good fun. Tall sizes hard to come by, we are even. I am from N. Ohio, watched the river burn……twice… And to this day, there are idiots who think we don’t need the EPA…

Jim

@mijostyn , the actual valve is designed like a stent, collapsed until in location.  Then it's 'deployed', expanding and pushing the aortic valves' 'petals' open and taking over the process.  The most annoying part of the whole surgery/recovery was waking with the breathing appliance still in my mouth & throat.

Which was dry, so the damn thing was 'stuck' to the walls of its' location....
Although 'still in the dark' of anesthesia, I was able to point at the device and register my annoyance...

"Oh, he's back with us....we'll have that out in a moment, 'K?"

I think my response got 'interpreted' properly...."Now would be great..."

I think they kept me for an extra day or 2 because I was a 'refreshing change' in the cancer ward they had room for me in.  Most left it covered up entirely...

...and I'm the noise at the end of the hall with a laptop playing Spotify and teasing the aides, RNs', and the parade of specialists and MDs'.
Since I was considered 'young' to receive TAVR (new at the time), I was 'interesting' and considered 'novel'....

...must have been my 'choice of music'...;)

Follow-up surgery for the pacer/defib entailed a nice young lady asking if I'd like to be a part of a study of the Boston Scientific unit, limited to 500 people in the U.S.

100 cardiologists nationwide with 5 patients each, to study the effectiveness of their new device.  The pacer makes 'tiny adjustments' if it registers inconsistencies....the defib likewise will make a more subtle approach to 'kick-start', as opposed to the 'donkey-kick' to the chest....
I like the concept of subtle.... *G*

I live with a bedside device that looks like an early network box.  It has a cell dongle that's in com 24/7/52 with BS, and go in for a 15 min. IRL system check 2x/yr.

They don't advise as to how I'm doing, other than I've not had to be defib'ed up to now...

So I'm partially Borg with onboard Bluetooth.  It is a bit weird to see ones' readouts on a laptop 10' away without the usual wiring and sensors applied.

...I did have a concern over how 'robust' the implant is....

"There's a record on one stopping a .38 bullet at close range.  Does that help? *S*
Oh, and it still worked after impact...."

Small target....2" dia,  Lucky shot...at least for the bearer....

@asvjerry , I think we can avoid testing that. Good that you got the TAVR. I avoid using medical terms when talking to lay people. I think most still get the "donkey kick version" but, I am just a family doc so what do I know. I do not have any of the soft kick versions in my practice. I do have three Bicuspids in the practice that I am watching. They will probably need valves eventually. It is a very common congenital defect like cleft lips. Waking up with an endotracheal tube still in place is considered bad form. Must have been a nurse or a resident running the case. The anesthesiologist bounces back and forth between several rooms making sure things are running well. It is less expensive than running an anesthesiologist in all the rooms. I have been replaced by nurse practitioners. They expect me to be a supervisor, not what I went to medical school for. Anyway, when I had my wrist fused I got screwed at both ends. My throat was sore and raspy for a week and I peed razor blades for three days, residents at both ends. The lesson here is avoid teaching hospitals whenever you can. Unless you have a really uncommon problem stick with community hospitals. 

@mijostyn (We be wayy off topic now, but I'm real good @ that.... ;)...)

Down with that 'we will Not test That' function, Yes....I've only had a gun waved near me once a very long time ago, and fortunately I was Not Involved. *whew*

I was happy about TAVR as well, I'd advised any and all that I thought would give a * about it that I would likely be an utter prick if involved in the rehab of having my chest wrenched open.  TAVR is a walk in the park....*S*

The Boston Sci implant is/was a new device at that time, ergo the study.  I was pleased to be included in it, 'spearheading SOTA' in my own small way.
I've actually seen a commercial for it awhile back; if anyone is a candidate for it, push towards it..👍😁

If the 'defib' function fires, I'll let you know what that's like.  So far, no 'events'... ;)

(You can 'go technical' on med terms with me, I was reading at a college level at an early age.  And I've a vested interest in what I'm being subjected to...

"Oh, that drug does....*boing*...That....*LOL*)

The specialist that initially treated my suggested that I'd need a 'valve job' eventually, so I'd kept in mind that I was just an organic '57 Chev in the long run....
"Reseat my valves, Baby!"

Hey, being a GP is a Good Thing.  Not enough of you of late, and mine is a good one.  Sarah is used to my 'left of centerline humor' and saved my lunch once...
"Go to the ER NOW!  Can you get there on your own?"

Yup, just watch... ;)  And I did....the troops were waiting with a 'chair...
Local med center is a short mile away, and specializes in pulmonary, so I couldn't be in a better place unless I lived there....

I think I surprised the attendants re the trach tube....that, and apparently they'd nearly 'lost me' in the OR, so I can accept a higher level of concern overall.

My 'valve thing' was an utter surprise, and is part of the family DNA.
My father passed from heart issues (was called an 'athletes' heart' at the mid-/60s'), my brothers' first child didn't survive, my nephews' first needed cardio surgery to pull through....
...and brother was mis-diagnosed by his MD, and dropped dead in the home hallway.  Same thing, caught too late. 😔

Upshot on my end:
I take a lot of non-recreational drugs, including blood thinners.  Being 'thin-skinned' due to age, if I damage self I leak like I've gotten knifed.
Fortunately, I clot quick...which is why the thinners...

I work with saws and other 'high probability of severe damage devices' but still have all appendages in place. 👍😁

Had to have my right little toe exorcised, but unrelated to work issues.
But *sigh*, I can only count to 19 now....*L* 

Keep on doin' whatcha' do, J