Mended Hearts Open Forum

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  • 1.  Neck and Upper Back Pain After Open Heart Surgery

    Posted 12-07-2022 14:45
    Hi,  My mom had OHS to repair an ascending aortic aneurysm with a graft.  The surgery was like 6-7 hours.  Since coming home she has had pain and stiffness in her neck and upper back.  The nurse said its from how she was on the table and also she was walking hunched over for a while to protect her incision area. She is 74 and has osteoporosis so they said people with that tend to get it worse.  She started PT last week,  currently 7 weeks after surgery.

    Has anyone else experienced the neck and upper back pain?  How long did it take to go away?  Do you know of anything to help it go away faster?

    Thanks!

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    Bryan Vennard
    Morristown NJ
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  • 2.  RE: Neck and Upper Back Pain After Open Heart Surgery

    Posted 12-07-2022 15:38
    Bryan:

    Similar experience.  Had OHS to replace aortic valve and ascending aorta at age 51, with a history of back issues.

    My back was very sore for about 8 weeks, and it took almost 6 months for all of the soreness to go away.

    Got the same response from surgeon, that position on table during surgery and the mechanics of spreading the sternum led to stress on the back.

    Found that as I went through the cardiac rehab exercises, improvement came quickly.  Did have a month interruption in rehab as they figured out how to work through the start of COVID restrictions.

    Hope she feels better quickly.

    Keith





  • 3.  RE: Neck and Upper Back Pain After Open Heart Surgery

    Posted 12-07-2022 15:44
    Thanks for your response Keith! Glad you are feeling better, it's funny my dads name was Keith, she is gonna take this as a sign she will get better lol.

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    Bryan Vennard
    Morristown NJ
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