Second OHS Surgery......

[diegocentrico]

hi...doctor decided for me to replace biologic valves...he wanted me to be a mother in future! so within 10-15 years i will have another OHS

but before going to the first surgery , reading your posts made me scared of the second one! while my surgeon said that will be much easier .

 

[Nancy]

Solmaz-

Wanting to have children in the future is one of the best reasons to go with a biologic(Tissue) valve. Second surgeries usually aren't a big problem. You should be fine.

 

[geebee]

hi...doctor decided for me to replace biologic valves...he wanted me to be a mother in future! so within 10-15 years i will have another OHS

but before going to the first surgery , reading your posts made me scared of the second one! while my surgeon said that will be much easier .

The reasons for bringing up potential problems are not meant to scare people but to simply point out that OHS is major surgery and not to be taken lightly. It is very easy to think it might be a breeze when you have never been through it.
If I were planning on children, I would definitely have a tissue valve. Pregnancy, while possible on coumadin, is considered very high risk, and should be avoided if possible. I would not be scared too much of a second OHS but I would be of more than 2.

 

[nia]

Justin tends to make keloid scars, i often wonderred if there was a corelation bewttween big keloid scars on the outside and more scarring on the inside, lyn

This is EXACTLY what I've been wondering too! My scar is keloid (top half especially...), and my skin breaks easily and usually doesn't heal as smoothly when I cut or scratch myself. My last echo (TEE) showed some focal thickening of the new valve, so I'm sort of worried that I'm already developing lots of scar tissue...

If I'm an avid scar-tissue producer, and it ends up that valves need to be replaced every so often because of this, then would it make sense to go mechanical (I'd like to go mech for my 2nd)? Does multiple surgeries (not considering the age factor) at the same site increase or decrease the rate of scar tissue production?