J
JudithD23
Hi,
Friday we interviewed the one of two potential surgeons that may do Tom's AV replacement. The Dr. kind of put the fear in us of waiting too long to do the surgery. He says that Tom's valve has gone from the size of a quarter (or was it a half dollar) to the size of a dime. Tom had just exercised that day on our elliptical trainer and the Dr. said that he doesn't want him exercising, lifting things or doing anything that might put a strain on his heart until well after his surgery. The Dr. mentioned something about when the blood flow through the heart is so diminished because of his aortic valve stenosis, there's always a chance that the rhythm of the heart will become erratic and go into dangerous fibrillation. I don't know if I'm accurately repeating what he said, but it's close. Can this happen?
The Dr. was trained at THI under Cooley and does over 300 OHS a year with about 80 a year being specific to AVR with a success rate of 99% and an infection rate of .3%. He says that after the heart cath they'll know if Tom needs any bypass grafts, but that they'll repair his a-fib at the same time. He says his choice of valve would be pericardial bovine tissue. I had earlier spoken to the cardiac nurse from the other surgeon's office and she said that their choice of valve was also the pericardial bovine. We have an appointment to meet with this other Dr. on the 30th of this month, but we are trying to get that appointment moved up because we're thinking we have to move toward having the surgery a lot sooner than we had anticipated.
I'm not sure what question or questions I have, but does this sound legitimate to you all? I'm just wondering if we need to have the surgery asap, or if we have the luxury of interviewing this other Dr. Tom has no real symptoms yet so I'm wondering and we're both kind of shocked. Tom's cardiologist, who we've known for about two years and has the best reputation here in Placerville, very highly recommends the Dr. we've already met.
Such decisions, and I know I keep referring to "our" surgery, even though it's, of course, Tom's surgery. He's relying on me to do most of this ground work and doing the research is how I cope. I've read on the forum that while it's complex surgery, it's not that uncommon. But last night I woke up so scared.
Input would be helpful. Thanks.
Judith
Friday we interviewed the one of two potential surgeons that may do Tom's AV replacement. The Dr. kind of put the fear in us of waiting too long to do the surgery. He says that Tom's valve has gone from the size of a quarter (or was it a half dollar) to the size of a dime. Tom had just exercised that day on our elliptical trainer and the Dr. said that he doesn't want him exercising, lifting things or doing anything that might put a strain on his heart until well after his surgery. The Dr. mentioned something about when the blood flow through the heart is so diminished because of his aortic valve stenosis, there's always a chance that the rhythm of the heart will become erratic and go into dangerous fibrillation. I don't know if I'm accurately repeating what he said, but it's close. Can this happen?
The Dr. was trained at THI under Cooley and does over 300 OHS a year with about 80 a year being specific to AVR with a success rate of 99% and an infection rate of .3%. He says that after the heart cath they'll know if Tom needs any bypass grafts, but that they'll repair his a-fib at the same time. He says his choice of valve would be pericardial bovine tissue. I had earlier spoken to the cardiac nurse from the other surgeon's office and she said that their choice of valve was also the pericardial bovine. We have an appointment to meet with this other Dr. on the 30th of this month, but we are trying to get that appointment moved up because we're thinking we have to move toward having the surgery a lot sooner than we had anticipated.
I'm not sure what question or questions I have, but does this sound legitimate to you all? I'm just wondering if we need to have the surgery asap, or if we have the luxury of interviewing this other Dr. Tom has no real symptoms yet so I'm wondering and we're both kind of shocked. Tom's cardiologist, who we've known for about two years and has the best reputation here in Placerville, very highly recommends the Dr. we've already met.
Such decisions, and I know I keep referring to "our" surgery, even though it's, of course, Tom's surgery. He's relying on me to do most of this ground work and doing the research is how I cope. I've read on the forum that while it's complex surgery, it's not that uncommon. But last night I woke up so scared.
Input would be helpful. Thanks.
Judith
