by LaurieAnnM
05/17/2008, 10:18 AM #
Apparently, Senator Ted Kennedy has suffered 'stroke like' symptoms and was airlifted from Cape Cod Hospital to Mass. General Hospital last night.
He is 76 years old and had recently had what is being reported as carotid surgery for 'blockage' in his blood vessels, but had returned to work following that surgery, and was by all reports ,doing well post surgery.
That procedure is called an Endarterectomy and is generally considered to be a very delicate anhttp://www.vascularweb.org/patients/NorthPoint/Carotid_Endarterectomy.htmld oftentimes unsuccessful surgery.
It is not uncommon for those who need and have this surgery to not survive. It's one of those difficult situations where the person who needs the surgery so sorely also ,sadly ,no longer has the benefit of youth and vigor needed in order to heal and survive it..in ther words when the arteries and other vital blood vessels that supply oxygen and nutrients via the circulatory systems become flaccid ,aged and filled with plaque causing the blood to clog and to refill,or back log and become congested with plaque like material, the only option, may be to do surgery to remove the blockage and or remove a portion of the vessel and do what is known as an anastamosis of rejoining the ends of of the artery after excision of a very damaged strangulated portion of it..that due to the person's age and other deteriorating health factors, they still may not do well or survive long, post surgically because the remaining vessels are still so aged and deteriorated anyway. That and the surgery itself is so delicate and the vessels so intensely vital to supplying O2 to the brain oftentimes patients suffer anoxia and also strokes during the surgery itself or immediately post surgically.
It's suprising to me that Senator Kennedy underwent such a potentially serious and always very cautious and often times very ill advised surgery for the reasons mentioned above and nothing has come out until now about it.
At any rate, Kennedy has a long long tenure in the U.S. Senate. Having first been elected in 1962. His recent endorsement of Barack Obama has been much in the news of late, even though it was notable that though Kennedy had endorsed Mr Obama, he was not able to carry his home state for him, and instead his state voted for Hillary Clinton in the Primary there ,several months ago.
As the last surviving brother of President John F. Kennedy and a very important figure in the Democratic Party and having moved and enormous amount of legislation through the Senate since 1962, his career has been enormously influential in the democratic party..
note on Endarterectomy. http://www.vascularweb.org/patients/NorthPoint/Carotid_Endarterectomy.html
(A Nurse's Education also includes Medical Terminology)...
Oh for Chrissake!
by catnapping
05/17/2008, 10:47 AM #
Would you PLEASE at LEAST read up before attempting to post on these topics. You are clueless!
For example:
1. survival rates are very good. only about 10% of these patients experience post-surgical and/or medical complications, and most of those resolve. And if I remember correctly only about a third of those with any complications even needed prolonged hospitalization. (it's been awhile)...I'm guessing people are doing better than they were back in the 90s when I was still scrubbing for these. (i never first-assisted one of these...I was still only a scrub nurse...but I have scrubbed for more than two dozen endarterectomies...and all were successful)
2. Do. PLEASE. Look up the word 'anastomosis' (and reanastomosis) so that you can use it properly in a sentence.
LaurieAnnM:tag: nightengale (sic), jarule, leemadison, headinjuryhiawatha, laurie meegan, lpn(?)
It is not uncommon for those who need and have this surgery to not survive.
[snip]
and do what is known as an anastamosis of rejoining the ends of of the artery after excision of a very damaged strangulated portion of it..
No comments:
Post a Comment