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Saturday, June 4, 2011

How Does the Sternum Feel After Open Heart Surgery?

There are many questions people have about Open Heart Surgery.  One of the biggest questions is getting in there to do the work - that means opening the chest!  Wooo!  And of course, the most important part is closing it up & healing! 

In 9 days I will be 6 months out from my surgery December 13th.  Almost everything that I have read says the bone should be healed in about 6-8 weeks.  As far as healing, I think my sternum seems solid - I have played golf, used a chainsaw, pushed my lawn mower, shoveled in the garden, and even done regular push-ups!

There are times I do feel pain around the incision.  It usually happens after a workout.  I still have numbness around the incision.  At times, if I grab something using a bad angle - like shutting a sliding glass door - I feel pain.  The first time golfing, I took one big divot - Pain!

I still need to watch my total weight that I lift and the angles that I lift, push or pull objects.

The steel wire, Sternal Closing Wire, will at times "tweak" areas where it was used.  Take a look st the Sternal Wire Website by clicking this link.

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