Thursday, August 7, 2008

Peter's Health?

Peter has not been 100 percent lately and mid July (16th) everything came to a head when he collapsed while walking. It must have been quite a shock for Kevin as he had just landed in Cape Town from a long international flight. Peter spent that night in ICU and after a multitude of tests he has now been told that he must have a heart valve replacement done.

The Operation

Peter's Aortiv valve replacement surgery will be performed on Friday 22 August. He will be admitted on 21 August (his 77th birthday)! The Doctor that will perform the operation is Dr Susan Vosloo (She has been highly recommended). She has said that the operation should take approximately 3 hours. Peter will have the operation done at the Life Vincent Pallotti Hospital in Cape Town. Peter's initial post-op recuperation will be in ICU. He will be kept sedated and put on a respirator for 12-24 hours until he is stabilized. For the next 24-48 hours he will remain in ICU but he will gradually be taken off the respirator. After that he will be moved out of ICU and will remain in hospital for approximately 12 days, depending on his recovery. His post-op recuperation should take 6-8 weeks.