Search results

Thank you kimcdougc. I've done all the work I can do. Now I'm handing control over to the doc and his team. He said, his major goal for me was to leave the operating room with trace to zero aortic insufficiency. That will be either through a repair, if that works, or a biovalve - the Magna...

After so much research (100s of hours) and discussion with doctors, I am getting closer to a decision. The more i've studied and talked, the more I realized that a lot of this is just personal preference of what we value most. Confidence of never again having surgery (mech valve), the freedom...

That would be great. BUT, I gave up meat when I first heard about my leaky valve. I know they aren't related, but facing issues of mortality had me reconsidering my diet. I'll give up meat, but not whiskey! I'll be down your way in about three weeks.

DachsieMom, Thank you!! I'm terrified, but have growing confidence over my choices so far.

cldhd, glad to hear the valve is still working great. Hope it continues that way for the next 45 years.

There are some studies out there, including the ones that I included in my post, that discuss long term freedom from re-operation. In one study, of 371 patients at NY Mt. Sinai, it shows that over a 18 year period post-surgery, 94.8% were free from re-operation. These patients all had aortic...

Looks like you had some aortic root reconstruction done as well. The long term freedom from re-operation for that procedure is really good. Something like 94.3% free from re-operation at 20 years. http://www.annalscts.com/article/view/1396/2011 For some more good reading on Aortic valve...

Thank you cldlhd and Duffey. cldlhd, it will take me a little while to digest what you have written. Thank you for laying out the details. I do now have a tentative meeting set up with Dr. Bavaria. I'm so grateful.

He is definitely a busy guy. They are going to review my records and tell me if I can have a meeting. So, I'm hoping. How did you feel about the process, the surgery itself, and the recovery? What was the specific repair (commissural annuloplast, plication...?) I'm eager to hear anything...

Looks like you had the best doctor I know of to do your repair. Congrats to you and hope it lasts a lifetime. I'm trying to get a consult with him to see if I'm a good candidate for repair and if he can take me on. I gather from your writing that you were happy with the process, surgery and...

No, the issue the surgeon's concern was regarding what he thinks is a lack of durability. In other words, it won't last and then I'll be back in OHS. He is also concerned that unless there is trace or no regurgitation once complete, the left ventricle won't shrink in size. If the regurge is...

There is a new drug in clinical trials that has a seven fold reduction in thromboembolic events with minimal increase in bleeding versus people not on any anticoagulation treatment. The company has indicated it intends to target artificial valves as a future indication after total knee...

There is a new drug in clinical trials that has a seven fold reduction in thromboembolic events with minimal increase in bleeding versus people not on any anticoagulation treatment. The company has indicated it intends to target artificial valves as a future indication after total knee...

Thank you all for your responses. I just got back from meeting with one of my two potential surgeons. He felt fairly strongly that repair was not a great solution. He questioned the durability of repair. That was a surprise answer to me. But, it makes sense. If the repair only lasts...

For some reason my post came up a Guest instead of me. Maybe I took too long to write it. This from me.