Recent content by fabyan64

If the AV is your own tissue, I'd replace it. If it's a mechanical value that is leaking (usually the area around the valve) I'd try to have it repaired, if possible. My surgeon (Dr. Joseph Coselli) found the coronary arteries were far enough from the valve to make a successful repair - was...

Ross, coming back after my initial post about the Heart/Lung entry point just under my right collar bone, it seems the nerver damage is repaired, but...... The right pectoralis muscle is lame; if I raise my right arm above my head it looks like a gunshot scar or a divot. I'm just trying to...

Yes, I'm still working on the writing, just busy with the divorce that continues to plague my daily routine. Regards, Roderick

Kevin, Dr. Coselli repaired my leaking St. Jude aortic value and cut out my aortic anuerysm on March 31, 2009. I met with him for 30 minutes on Monday, had surgery on Tuesday, left the hospital 4 days later and never saw him again. This is not to say I was displeased or that I did not get good...

Blood thinners are not bad; though it sometimes takes a while to correctly stabilize the INR level. I was on Marcoumar (will go back to it as soon as I can find it) from 1991 until 2009, and now on Coumadin. Coumadin is iffy; and it depends on if you are taking a generic or not. Anyway, I think...

I agree with Ross. At 12 the surgeons 'opened' my AR, knowing that when I was older I would need a replacement valve. At 24 they gave me a mechanical valve, which began to leak within a year or 2, but luckily, lasted until this past March when an anuerysm formed. However, the doctor decided the...

Didn't John Ritter die from a ruptured aortic anuerysm? His wife is on a crusade to get people informed. Don't wait!! Roderick

My anuerysm was 'stable' for many years at 4.4cm, but between September and March '09 it grew to 6cm - Don't wait. Find a good surgeon and have the procedure done. I can highly recommend Dr. Joseph Coselling at St. Lukes in Houston. He preformed my surgery March 31, and I'm back at work today -...

I'm taking Wayferin. After my 1991 surgery (AVR), my range was set at 2.5-3.0, and since I began home-testing in 1999, it has almost been right around 2.6-2.8. Marcoumar is very similar to Coumadin, but from my experience, it just works much better. Never heard of Jantoven - mostly because I'm...

I'm not surprised this is the first time you've heard of Marcoumar? It's not available in the U.S. that I know of, but I know all the doctors I've met hear who have experience outside the U.S. know Marcoumar.

My household was going to be full around the time of my surgery, and my wife filed for divorce the day of my surgery. Can you imagine what it would have been like to be home recovering. I chose to go to Texas for my surgery (3/31) and stayed with my mom for 3 weeks. Now that I'm back in Chicago...

Hi Guys and Gals! I've been away for a while now, about 3 weeks to be exact, getting situated at home in Chicago. Driving is going well, as is everything else, but......... the Coumadin I'm taking is awful. I can't get it regulated, and have to take between 0 and 10mg in order to get my INR...

Hi John, I can certainly understand your anxiety with having a heart cath, and having to us a facility that probably won't give you the care you need just because of your age. I've had 6 or 7 caths since 68 (I'm only 44), but can offer a bit of advice. If you are scared, make sure you let...

Norma, I'll keep you in my prayers that you do not have to go through another OHS. I'd be curious to know why they would want to do surgery again, so soon after having a new aortic valve in 2006, or is it the Mitral valve - sorry, don't mean to pry. Lisa mentioned a 3-D echo; that must be very...