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  1. pikacat

    North to Alaska

    i have crazy always wanted to go to alaska -- esp the yukon. i'm so jealous! i hope you share pics!
  2. pikacat

    Less than 24 Hours, and Counting

    thinking of you! <3 hope everything goes great and that you're back with your doggies in no time!
  3. pikacat

    Help me with my third surgery questions

    I googled this a bit ago in making my own valve decision. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC101073/ and actually one of the links had been from this forum: http://www.valvereplacement.org/forums/showthread.php?29907-Pregnancy-with-a-mechanical-valve-story it's possible to have a...
  4. pikacat

    we're new here :)

    That would definitely be interesting. I would suspect that you're right that part of this is that repairs are fairly new. I was surprised when my surgeon told me that my repaired valve might be replaced. No one told me that this might ever be a possibility, and I suspect that this is because...
  5. pikacat

    we're new here :)

    I think that's individual and depends on your case. My repaired mitral valve has lasted 11 years and may last my whole life. It is unknown if my surgeon will replace my mitral valve this coming surgery. He will assess the situation when he's looking at my mitral valve during my surgery. As...
  6. pikacat

    we're new here :)

    Yeah I'm under the impression that as Al said, that some cardiologists may recommend surgery even if the measurements don't seem too bad if the symptoms suggest it (which they may in your case). So you might want to get a second opinion.
  7. pikacat

    repeat AVR looming after only 6 years!

    It was not off-topic joking on my part. He asked a question about recourse. I answered it. I have a JD with a focus on health law. I also cleared up any misconceptions of law. It was my intention to have a proper answer to that question on this thread should anyone have similar thoughts...
  8. pikacat

    Help me with my third surgery questions

    i'm not familiar with the site, but my understanding from other peoples' posts was that list could show you clinics in the united states that specialize in adult congenital heart defects and the amount of procedures they perform yearly, which is important to show how familiar their surgeons are...
  9. pikacat

    Help me with my third surgery questions

    it is an overly complicated site, and it seems to be kind of messed up. if you manage to register for the entire site so you get member access, this is the link you want to see all the clinics and the # of adult congenital heart defect operations per year it does...
  10. pikacat

    Help me with my third surgery questions

    When I was 19, my cardiologist recommended that I go to a surgeon skilled enough to do the surgery necessary. I had 2 VSDs (ventricular septal defects), a cleft mitral valve and another hole in the wall of the heart that was causing a leak in my aortic valve, so I guess it was kind of...
  11. pikacat

    Help me with my third surgery questions

    Luana suggested UCLA medical center. Like you I had a complex congenital heart defect issue (several heart defects) involving my valves. I had my first surgery done at UCLA medical center. My surgeon was Dr. Laks, and it's my impression that he's one of the best surgeons if you'd want to look...
  12. pikacat

    repeat AVR looming after only 6 years!

    that cost is actually negligible, whereas giving back to a person who lost their livelihood is invaluable. Those claims rest mainly on a single 1996 study by two Stanford economists who said caps on damage awards could hold down overall medical costs by 5% to 9%. They studied heart patients...
  13. pikacat

    repeat AVR looming after only 6 years!

    naw, man. i'm just bored and an argumentative law type :/ my surgery was supposed to be tomorrow, then it got pushed back. now i've got nothing but time to argue hypothetical products liability apparently. this is like "fun" for me. i like to pretend this may one day be helpful for someone...
  14. pikacat

    repeat AVR looming after only 6 years!

    valves don't come with a guarantee of longevity. someone bringing a claim that an item was guaranteed would bring a warranty claim. like if i bought shoes that said on the box, "best hiking shoes guaranteed!" and they fell apart when i went hiking in them for the first time. this...
  15. pikacat

    repeat AVR looming after only 6 years!

    I MOVE FOR A BAD COURT... THINGY. -- lionel hutz, esq.
  16. pikacat

    repeat AVR looming after only 6 years!

    in pretend legal land: it's a good legal opinion :) what that data would do for the defense is that even if a plaintiff in a case like this could show on the offchance that the valve was defectively manufactured, he would not be able to show any damages because there was no injury aside from...
  17. pikacat

    repeat AVR looming after only 6 years!

    i can only conjecture, but i would guess this is most likely the reason, too. i'm 30 and my surgeon said that given my active lifestyle i would most likely go through a bio valve in 7 years at the top end, maybe even faster. i really didn't want to have a third surgery in just a few years, so...
  18. pikacat

    repeat AVR looming after only 6 years!

    kind of. it's actually that the constitution states that the "laws of the united states" shall be the supreme law of the land. therefore, federal law may preempt state law. there's no special law called the preemption law. riegel v. medtronic is a supreme court case regarding medical...
  19. pikacat

    repeat AVR looming after only 6 years!

    2. that's a complicated products liability case. you'd want to talk to an attorney who specializes in defective medical devices. you seem to be positing that it was manufactured incorrectly. a good products liability attorney with expert witnesses he trusts could review your case and have a...
  20. pikacat

    St Jude Mechanical Valve plastic model

    my pika is such a haughty kitty, that she might very well think she's far superior to any regent. it's ok, though. she's super cute so she gets away with it. i mean, hey, she and my other cat put the 90 lb akita mix in his place.
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