Aortopexy

March 19, 2015 – April 1, 2015

Aortopexy – a surgery where they suture the aorta to the sternum.  The innominate artery (also known as brachiocephalic artery or trunk) comes off the top of the aorta so both gets moved away from the trachea.  This is the standard surgery for severe Innominate Artery Compression(IAC) Syndrome.  Doctors usually only consider surgery if the compression is more than 40% and they are symptomatic.  

Diagram of Aorta and Innomate Artery(Brachiocephalic Artery or Trunk)

 

Aorta in relation to trachea and heart

 

Innominate Artery compressing trachea

Landrie had an Aortopexy done on March 19^th.  I was very nervous leading up to this surgery because it sounded scary… the aorta is the main artery of the body and any damage to it could be BAD.  The surgery took a few hours and went smoothly.  They said they were able to reduce the compression from 90% to 30%.  She was out of it the rest of the day but not overly fussy.  She had issues with tachycardia (high heart rate) after the surgery.  The doctors were not sure why.  They increased her pain meds thinking that was the cause even though she was not acting in pain.  It did not help.  Her heart rate was staying around 190 and spiking to 210 when drinking bottles and this was while calm and happy.  For her age, 160 should have been the max heart rate.  They did blood work and an EKG but other than it being rapid everything looked fine.  They assumed it was just that her body needed time to adjust to the aorta being moved even though it is not a common side effect of the surgery.  She came home on March 21^st with a 24 holster monitor.  The results showed everything was fine except for the heart rate being fast.  Her heart rate returned to normal after 2 weeks.  Her heart rate still increases when she drinks bottles and still has occasional episodes of it being high. No one is sure why, but the episodes usually only last a few hours.  Landrie recovered well at home.  Her surgeon said she would be back to doing normal stuff within a few days but I really didn’t believe him.  But he was right…within a few days she was doing all her normal 7 month old things including jumping in her jumper…which looked painful but she wasn’t bothered.  She had a follow-up with her cardiothoracic surgeon on April 1^st and he said her incision looked great and released her from his care.  

Top - before scope with 90% compression; Bottom - after scope with 30% compression

"And though she be but little, she is fierce!". - Shakespeare

After surgery with chest tube still in place

 

Smiling the morning after surgery