G was scheduled for knee replacement surgery Tuesday. Got to the hospital at 5:30 am. did all the pre-op stuff- put him in a "johnny", shaved his leg. EKG, blood work, IV started with a saline drip. Visit from RN, Anesthesiologist and other support staff. surgeon walks in at 8:40 and says the surgery is a "no go". G had arterial valve replacement in 08 and has a mechanical valve. He has been on Coumadin since. He took his last dose last Friday but his INR was still too high (blood too thin) for surgery. We have been eating brussel sprouts, broccoli and spinach 3 meals a day to reduce his INR (vitamin K).
He went to the Coumadin clinic this afternoon and his INR is down enough for surgery. So we show up at the hospital at 5 am tomorrow and try again.
The Coumadin make surgery a catch 22. His blood has to be thick enough to avoid bleeding but then there is the risk of a blood clot in the valve.
He will have to have some other mediation immediatly after surgery that will thin his blood enough to avoid a clot but not so much that he has bleeding in the surgery site.
We are both ready to get this over with.
Just needed to vent.
Thanks for being there.