Well, John tried to post from home as "catman" yesterday, but we had internet problems, so I'm posting for him from work.
John had his TEE yesterday, and I was relieved that the initial results showed his mitral valve to be repairable. The cardiologist doing the echo said at least one, maybe 2 (I don't remember the #), of the chordae has/have ruptured. Does not appear to have any degeneration of the leaflets (myxomatous tissue) or thickening. Said to have surgery w/in 3-6 months.
This supports everyone's belief that the MVR is related to his car accident in December 2005 in which his sternum was fractured.
John said the TEE was pretty much a breeze. The interior of his mouth is smaller than usual, so we weren't sure if he'd be able to swallow the tubing. The nurse said if he couldn't and if they weren't able to get an anesthesiologist ASAP, the procedure would be rescheduled and then done under general anesthesia.
He was a very good patient and swallowed when they said, "SWALLOW!"
His procedure was done about 8:30 a.m. or so. We left the hospital about 11:30-11:45. He was able to eat pancakes for lunch.
John will see our cardiologist @ 2 p.m. Feb. 15. I'll go w/ him, and then we'll see the surgeon(s) in Dallas at the Heart Place practice adjacent to Baylor Hospital.
We hope to get this done pretty soon. Yesterday, my mom (who will be 80 next month but in pretty good health) was scheduled for knee joint replacement May 22, so we don't want both surgeries done in May. Too much stress on our family.
(The cardio doing the TEE & the nurses were surprised that I had had MV replacement and was knowledgeable about the mitral valve. Also surprised that I do my own INR testing & adjusting my warfarin dose.
)
John had his TEE yesterday, and I was relieved that the initial results showed his mitral valve to be repairable. The cardiologist doing the echo said at least one, maybe 2 (I don't remember the #), of the chordae has/have ruptured. Does not appear to have any degeneration of the leaflets (myxomatous tissue) or thickening. Said to have surgery w/in 3-6 months.
This supports everyone's belief that the MVR is related to his car accident in December 2005 in which his sternum was fractured.
John said the TEE was pretty much a breeze. The interior of his mouth is smaller than usual, so we weren't sure if he'd be able to swallow the tubing. The nurse said if he couldn't and if they weren't able to get an anesthesiologist ASAP, the procedure would be rescheduled and then done under general anesthesia.
He was a very good patient and swallowed when they said, "SWALLOW!"
His procedure was done about 8:30 a.m. or so. We left the hospital about 11:30-11:45. He was able to eat pancakes for lunch.
John will see our cardiologist @ 2 p.m. Feb. 15. I'll go w/ him, and then we'll see the surgeon(s) in Dallas at the Heart Place practice adjacent to Baylor Hospital.
We hope to get this done pretty soon. Yesterday, my mom (who will be 80 next month but in pretty good health) was scheduled for knee joint replacement May 22, so we don't want both surgeries done in May. Too much stress on our family.
(The cardio doing the TEE & the nurses were surprised that I had had MV replacement and was knowledgeable about the mitral valve. Also surprised that I do my own INR testing & adjusting my warfarin dose.
)
