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Had open heart surgery where they sawed the sternum and wired it back.
Its bee almost 6 weeks and my capacity which had been @7 liters is now only about 3.5.
Anyone been through this?
Did you get all your capacity back?
How long did it take?
Any exercises or such that would help?
ThnkZ!

zangerzzz wrote:Had open heart surgery where they sawed the sternum and wired it back.
Its bee almost 6 weeks and my capacity which had been @7 liters is now only about 3.5.
Anyone been through this?
Did you get all your capacity back?
How long did it take?
Any exercises or such that would help?
ThnkZ!

I had triple bypass heart surgery exactly 1-year ago this week. They gave me a device to exercise my breathing, which I used several times a day. (Not sure of the clinical name, but it has Airlife on it. A tube that you inhale through and measures the intake.). I was like you with depleted lung capacity, but with the exercises breathing improved albeit slowly. It was probably 8-12 weeks before I returned to normal playing, but mainly because of the restriction on lifting. Overall I now breathe much better than before the surgery.

All the best to you for your recovery.

Larry Haake

https://www.amazon.com/Breath-Builder-V ... spirometer" target="_blank

http://www.windsongpress.com/product/breath-builder/" target="_blank

This is a question to ask your doctor, not Tubenet! The implications of any false information can be serious. When I wrote the Jacobs book, he wanted this statement included, "Jacobs realizes his limitations, and if he senses a medical problem with a student, he always recommends that a physician be consulted immediately".

I had open heart surgery about 8 years ago with my chest cut open (have tetralogy of fallot ). I would say you simply need to wait longer. I would wait another couple of months before you play. Not just from a breathing point of view but also a physical point of view. The strain of holding the tuba is something that should be avoided for a while. Basically 6 weeks is too soon to get back into playing. Spend your time doing rehab instead of practice

Bless you, sir! Keep on keepin’ on!

I had some pretty major spine surgery about two years ago now. Immediately after surgery my lung capacity was greatly reduced. I was a little under 4 liters when I had 6 before. Now a days I'm sitting at about five. It's just gonna take time to get it back if you get it all back. I've just had to learn to breathe more often and play with less tension in my body. It'll come in time, don't get too worried at this point. Gotta think of the long term picture.

Got release from doc yesterday to resume normal activities. Did a little yoga and capacity increased from 3500ml to 5000m.

brianf wrote:This is a question to ask your doctor, not Tubenet! The implications of any false information can be serious. When I wrote the Jacobs book, he wanted this statement included, "Jacobs realizes his limitations, and if he senses a medical problem with a student, he always recommends that a physician be consulted immediately".

I disagree with this. Not the part about asking your doctor, that's fine (although doctors have false information as well). Why not ask people who have experienced this, whether they are on TubeNet or elsewhere? We are all free to take advice or ignore it. If something interesting is offered, it's a point of departure for further consideration.

Hup

to be honest, I don't think this is a question of lung capacity, but more to do with muscle healing after the operation, you can't breathe not because of your lungs, but because of the muscles and tissue that have been cut to get to your heart, not to be too graphic about it, gut your ribs will have been spread (about 10cms) and that will affect the joints between them and the spine, and a sternal cut is like a fracture and that takes quite a bit of time to sort itself out probably 4-6 months, so at 6 weeks you are doing really well.
if your heart problem affected your breathing, you will notice a gradual improvement but it takes time.

I only have had very much less radical surgeries, but I am more conservative about taking up playing after having been cut than my doctors were.

Very few doctors realize how strong the diaphragm and the abdominal muscles of a well trained brass player are.

Klaus

I had a quadruple bypass in November, 2016 and had similar concerns. And you're actually smart to ask these questions here because my own doctors (who were generally excellent) did not have clear answers to questions of lung capacity. I was 52 at that time, otherwise in good health, and was fortunate to have my surgery "off pump"; i.e. using a technique whereby my heart was never stopped eliminating the need for a heart-lung machine. My capacity went from 5.2 down to 3.14 at one week after surgery. I was given an exercise device, (a 4-liter incentive spirometer made by Airlife) and a routine/schedule at the hospital. Keep this up in post surgery. Get yourself into a several-day per week rehab program without fail when your team says you're ready for it. After one month I gained a liter and then progress was steady but slower. All of my doctors were in agreement that the best thing I could do was WALK and they were right. Walking (and spitting) will help you get the crud out of your lungs. Be as physically active as your doctors will allow. At exactly one year from my surgery capacity and flow were back to normal. I was fortunate to own a calibrated spirometer and performed these tests myself. I was NEVER tested for this before or after surgery by the physicians. I now play better (or at least far more comfortably) than ever and aside from some pain in the sternum I'm fine.

Don't even think about picking up a tuba until they give you the ok to lift something of that weight. I must warn you to expect the onset of depression which in my case became quite acute. It hit me at about your stage and it required medication. There is a disconnect between the cardiac/medical community and the psychiatric community on this point so don't expect your cardio team to mention it. Bravo to them if they do but they didn't in my case and I had to do my own research. BE PROACTIVE. Do not assume that your caregivers will provide all that you need. The body/mind doesn't like being ripped open and reacts in unexpected ways. General anesthesia is also rough on the body and mind. The good news is that it DOES get better. Feel free to contact me privately if you'd like more info on my own experience.

No surgery, but had genetic blood clots. That is the reason I got back into tuba after being out of it since college: to keep the vital capacity going to minimize the effects of getting another clot. The deep breathing exercises we use to develop efficient capacity are exactly what will get us through the next cardiovascular event. Thankfully, the clots did not cause any permanent damage, but my chest felt like gnomes with jackhammers for quite awhile. Yes, I also have decreased capacity. It is compounded by an accident I had in gym class as a teenager where one of the guys went up for a layup, I stood my ground and got the charging foul. But he put his knee in my sternum, damaging the cartilage, and I have never been able to do as many pullups since, and that was (mumble) decades ago.

Yes, slow breathing exercises, like those in "The Breathing Gym" by Pilafian and Sheridan, are a good way to get the flexibility back in the rib cartilage, especially since the intercostals will have taken quite a beating in the surgical process (that no one seems to talk about), and need to be brought back into balance with the abdominals to get back to an efficient and deep in/out breathing cycle we all need to enjoy playing our instruments.

I hope your re-wired sternum is not permanent, because that in and of itself will limit the expansion the intercostals are supposed to do. Good luck.