Surgery scehduled for 2/20/17

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Patrick7651

Active member
Joined
Nov 15, 2016
Messages
28
Location
New York
Hello everyone. Only my second post here. A little bit about me. I am 49 years old and have been in good health. I am quite physically active both with exercise (not so much lately, Dr's orders) and work around the home. I have two daughters, 10 and 8.

My story:

Back in 2013 my NP recommended an echo to check on a mumur that she had picked up during my annual physical. The echo went well and the results were that I had mild regurge. The comment was made that they would just keep an eye on it yearly. No worries. I really did not understand the seriousness of the condition at the time. The following two years, and two different Dr's, there was no mention of the issue at these physicals, so the issue fell out of mind. I guess the seriousness never hit me because I had associated it with my existing PAC issue. Well In September of 2016, I again went in for my physical. This time I was seen by the same NP as in 2013. She immediately commented on the need for another echo after listening to my heart. A few weeks later the echo was performed followed quickly by a visit with my newly assigned cardiologist. He explained in detail what I was facing and told me that i had severe aortic valve stenosis and was showing early signs of ventricular hypertrophy. He then set up a schedule for shorter monitoring with echo's every six months. Well the week following I felt like I was crawling out of my skin. I could not grasp the diagnosis and the severity of it. I requested a more thorough TEE. After waking up from the TEE, the Dr told me that I had a bicuspid valve that was "abnormally abnormal" . He then continued by stating that i would be getting an angio performed in a couple weeks followed by surgery in January. The angio revealed no other issues with my heart and confirmed the previous findings.

Of course After that news I began searching out more information regarding my condition. That research led me to this forum, which has been very informative and helpful. I also wanted to get the best possible care i could for surgery and post-op. Luckily i live just south of Buffalo, NY and have decided on Cleveland Clinic as it is only a short three hour drive down the road and one of the best in the country for this type of surgery.

I received a call from the surgeons nurse last week to confirm my scheduling and talked to her at great length. She confirmed that my surgeon would be Dr Gosta Pettersson. She also mentioned the various options he had suggested for replacing my AV. She mentioned the traditional tissue and mechanical, but then she mentioned the Ozaki Procedure. That was new to me. I looked it up and found that it is an on the fly valve replacement using your own pericardial tissue. Interesting. Very new so there is not much data on it that i could find. She also mentioned that the Dr was shying away from mechanical because I am a police detective. I assume that this caution is due to the warfarin and not any physical limitations i would be under post surgery. So i head down on the 6th of February for all my pre-op testing and meet with the surgical team and anesthesiology then the Dr on the 7th.

Needless to say my emotions have run the gamut from lets get it done to scared out of my mind. Now that the scheduling is all in place it has settled in as real. That was an emotional moment for me. It is hard not to be when I think of my family.
 
Best wishes going forward, Patrick! It's wonderful that your surgeon will be Dr. Pettersson at CC. Are you giving consideration to the Ozaki Procedure? It sounds very interesting. Hopefully no matter what you chose, you'll learn more about the procedure at your February 7 meeting and can share more information with us. In the meantime, try to relax and enjoy these pre-surgery days.
 
Hi Patrick - You've got a lot to think about in a short time, but sounds like you have a really good team behind you ! It's really good to try and focus on preparation for when you come out of hospital during the next few weeks, keeps it all positive, and anyway, you will be out in what seems no time ! Keep us posted on the type of AVR they do. All the best.
 
Welcome to the forum, Patrick. We have all been where you are emotionally. In my case, when I was told that surgery would need to happen within a year, I wanted it over and done with as soon as possible. I don't handle anticipation very well. To handle the anxiety I reminded myself that my situation was fixable and that many people (e.g., terminal cancer patients) would trade places in a heartbeat (no pun intended). I specifically thought often of the parents of a local 12-yo girl who drowned in Galveston Bay in front of her teachers while on a class trip. My concerns were minor in comparison. I also made sure my affairs were in order in case I did not survive the surgery. That was my way of tell myself I still had some control over the situation. Finally, I came here often, where simply reading all the success stories helped put my mind at ease.

In the end I was glad for the diagnosis. Without it, I probably would have been dead within a year. Keep us posted. We care.

Hugs,
Michele
 
Duffey;n872420 said:
Are you giving consideration to the Ozaki Procedure? It sounds very interesting. Hopefully no matter what you chose, you'll learn more about the procedure at your February 7 meeting and can share more information with us. In the meantime, try to relax and enjoy these pre-surgery days.

The procedure does seem to be interesting, but I am concerned over the longevity. On the plus side it may keep me a candidate for a TAVR in the future as it does not appear to minimize the valve diameter. I will let you know what I learn from Dr Pettersson.

Speaking of Dr Pettersson, are you familiar with him?
 
Patrick7651;n872430 said:
The procedure does seem to be interesting, but I am concerned over the longevity. On the plus side it may keep me a candidate for a TAVR in the future as it does not appear to minimize the valve diameter. I will let you know what I learn from Dr Pettersson.

Speaking of Dr Pettersson, are you familiar with him?

I am familar with Dr. Pettersson as a result of several forum members having their surgery done by him. In addition, when you research thoracic surgeons, his name is always near the top for the best in the country. You'll be in good hands.
 
Dr P is a well known surgeon. He isn't an amateur.
We had a young cop on the forum who went mechanical and straight back into his previous duties.
It might be worthwhile talking to your pd about whether being on warfarin will be an issue.
You'll bruise more, but that's about it, unless your job involves getting smacked in the head a lot.
Boxing on Warfarin probably not a good idea.
 
Hi Patrick,

I totally agree with all the great comments already provided regarding Dr. Pettersson. He is an amazing surgeon, One of the best!
He worked wonders with me, and I was not an easy surgery.
You are in the best hands with him.
Wishing you a successful surgery, and a full and speedy recovery. Let me know if I can be of any help.

Rob
 
Agian;n872460 said:
You'll bruise more, but that's about it, unless your job involves getting smacked in the head a lot.
Boxing on Warfarin probably not a good idea.

Well there goes my MMA retirement gig. Seriously though, My PD does not have a problem with the warfarin. My concern is I am a very active DIY'er and woodworker. To this point I have only suffered one serious bleeding injury that would have been extremely dangerous had i been on warafarin, but that was years ago and I learned not to play with sharp chisels.
 
Patrick7651;n872480 said:
Well there goes my MMA retirement gig. Seriously though, My PD does not have a problem with the warfarin. My concern is I am a very active DIY'er and woodworker. To this point I have only suffered one serious bleeding injury that would have been extremely dangerous had i been on warafarin, but that was years ago and I learned not to play with sharp chisels.
So, there you go. I'm an active DIYer too. I help the neighbours out as well.
Don't assume you'll bleed out if you cut yourself.
 
Hi

and welcome ... all will go well ... I replied because I wanted to address a point of common misconception:

Patrick7651;n872480 said:
My concern is I am a very active DIY'er and woodworker. To this point I have only suffered one serious bleeding injury that would have been extremely dangerous had i been on warafarin, but that was years ago and I learned not to play with sharp chisels.

I've just spent the last few years doing substantial renovations to my house *myself* ... circular saws, cutting tiles (sharp as a razor) , angle grinders ... you name it. Interspersed with doing rebuilds on my motorbike and stuff like that.

I've cut myself a few times and to be totally frank can't really see a difference in bleeding.

But just because you cut yourself seriously you have no evidence that it would have been any worse were you on warfarin or not. The standard rules should be followed, Apply pressure to the wound, block any veins or arteries and proceed to hospital asap.

Warfarin does not cause you to bleed like the Black Knight , it just slows the clotting down a bit. Unless your INR is like 8 or something stupid ... which if you aren't weekly testing it may well be...

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So, I just got back home from visiting Cleveland Clinic for my pre op testing and speaking with my surgeon. I was very impressed with the facility and all of the workers who ran me through my tests. The tests that were performed verified the need for AV replacement as my valve was heavily calcified and down to .8 in valve area with 30 mean gradient. I visited with my surgeon, Dr Patterson, to discuss my options for my procedure. Initially when he laid out the options he showed concern for having to rely on Coumadin management. When I discussed with him that I had been learning about the process, he became much more comfortable with recommending the mechanical valve. He is leaving the choice completely up to me whether I go mech or tissue as well as the Ozaki procedure I had mentioned earlier (I find that procedure interesting and it probably holds a lot of promise but it has only been performed on a limited basis for 9 years).
As for my mental state, I have been going through a sort of surreal process in my head that I am actually looking forward to the surgery but at the same time it feels like it is not real. At least I can say that my experience down in Cleveland put me at ease knowing how well they would take care of me. I'm sure the stress and anxiety will ramp up in the coming days and I will have to find ways to deal with it
 
Patrick7651;n872418 said:
Hello everyone. Only my second post here. A little bit about me. I am 49 years old and have been in good health. I am quite physically active both with exercise (not so much lately, Dr's orders) and work around the home. I have two daughters, 10 and 8.

My story:

Back in 2013 my NP recommended an echo to check on a mumur that she had picked up during my annual physical. The echo went well and the results were that I had mild regurge. The comment was made that they would just keep an eye on it yearly. No worries. I really did not understand the seriousness of the condition at the time. The following two years, and two different Dr's, there was no mention of the issue at these physicals, so the issue fell out of mind. I guess the seriousness never hit me because I had associated it with my existing PAC issue. Well In September of 2016, I again went in for my physical. This time I was seen by the same NP as in 2013. She immediately commented on the need for another echo after listening to my heart. A few weeks later the echo was performed followed quickly by a visit with my newly assigned cardiologist. He explained in detail what I was facing and told me that i had severe aortic valve stenosis and was showing early signs of ventricular hypertrophy. He then set up a schedule for shorter monitoring with echo's every six months. Well the week following I felt like I was crawling out of my skin. I could not grasp the diagnosis and the severity of it. I requested a more thorough TEE. After waking up from the TEE, the Dr told me that I had a bicuspid valve that was "abnormally abnormal" . He then continued by stating that i would be getting an angio performed in a couple weeks followed by surgery in January. The angio revealed no other issues with my heart and confirmed the previous findings.

Of course After that news I began searching out more information regarding my condition. That research led me to this forum, which has been very informative and helpful. I also wanted to get the best possible care i could for surgery and post-op. Luckily i live just south of Buffalo, NY and have decided on Cleveland Clinic as it is only a short three hour drive down the road and one of the best in the country for this type of surgery.

I received a call from the surgeons nurse last week to confirm my scheduling and talked to her at great length. She confirmed that my surgeon would be Dr Gosta Pettersson. She also mentioned the various options he had suggested for replacing my AV. She mentioned the traditional tissue and mechanical, but then she mentioned the Ozaki Procedure. That was new to me. I looked it up and found that it is an on the fly valve replacement using your own pericardial tissue. Interesting. Very new so there is not much data on it that i could find. She also mentioned that the Dr was shying away from mechanical because I am a police detective. I assume that this caution is due to the warfarin and not any physical limitations i would be under post surgery. So i head down on the 6th of February for all my pre-op testing and meet with the surgical team and anesthesiology then the Dr on the 7th.

Needless to say my emotions have run the gamut from lets get it done to scared out of my mind. Now that the scheduling is all in place it has settled in as real. That was an emotional moment for me. It is hard not to be when I think of my family.

Hi mate


Im over my op. Had it done just over 14 months ago. All of the things that go through your mind...ignore it. Its not half as bad as you think it is. I read some horrific forums here in the UK
and it was only until i found this site that I calmed down. Hell you get a little bit of pain but you'd get with a bad back also. I imagined it to be the worst case scenario but i think like 3 days after the op I was down to just taking paracetamol for the pain! Ive had worse headaches! You'll be fine and back to your old ways in no time. The recovery takes a little time but each day its gets easier mate! No worries.
 
David W;n873091 said:
Hi mate


Im over my op. Had it done just over 14 months ago. All of the things that go through your mind...ignore it. Its not half as bad as you think it is. I read some horrific forums here in the UK
and it was only until i found this site that I calmed down. Hell you get a little bit of pain but you'd get with a bad back also. I imagined it to be the worst case scenario but i think like 3 days after the op I was down to just taking paracetamol for the pain! Ive had worse headaches! You'll be fine and back to your old ways in no time. The recovery takes a little time but each day its gets easier mate! No worries.

I initially was freaking out over the prospect of the surgery. I was so concerned about whether I would make it through to the other side. It really hit me hard. After finding this site and reading the great posts i slowly started to loose the bulk of my anxiety. After my past few days in Cleveland get my pre op tests and talking to the Dr., I am actually looking forward to the surgery to get it done and get my strength back for the summer. Definitely not as anxious as i was, but we'll have to see how my knees are doing when I walk in for surgery.
 
Good way of looking at it. I planned my surgery in February. I figured that would be a good month to be 'laid up' then further couch time during March madness. Then feeling better by summer.
 
Hi Patrick. I visit with OHS patients once a week as a volunteer at one of our local hospitals and usually see 6-8 "open heart" patients per visit. Most are By-pass patients but quite a few are valve and valve/bypass patients........ BTW, bypass and valve surgery seem very similar. A few I see are pre-op but most are post-op and I am amazed at how quickly they are recovering after surgery......even the folks who are in their 60s and 70s. The normal stay seems to be about 4-5 days after one day in the ICU post-op. I believe that you will find the waiting for surgery to be more stressful than the surgery itself.
 
It definitely is amazing how quickly people are recovering from the surgery. When I was in Cleveland an older gentleman, probably late 70's and a bit overweight was walking around drinking some coffee and engaged in a brisk conversation about how he had just had his valve replaced ten days ago. Amazing.
 

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