2nd MVR to replace tissue valve

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David'sBride

Member
Joined
May 5, 2008
Messages
14
Location
Oklahoma City, OK
Although a second surgery is not imminent, I know that the bovine tissue valve I have will eventually need to be replaced. Does anyone have any experience with this? I'm sure I will get a mechanical valve next time because of my age. I am 39 now, and chose the tissue valve because I wanted to have a chance to have a baby. I'm still hoping for a healthy baby after a recent miscarriage.
 
Sorry to hear about the miscarriage. Keep trying?

As far as experience goes, do you mean multiple reops?
 
dfelder said:
I just had my 2nd replacement with a mechanical valve, after having a tissue valve. I am 28. If I could go back, I would do a tissue valve again. I had such a better quality of life before the mechanical valve.
Click to expand...

Please elaborate. Your quality of life shouldn't be any different.
 
I had a reop at the end of last August. For me, the surgery, associated hospitalization, and recovery went easier than the first time, partly because I knew what to expect. I was out of the hospital three days after surgery both times.

The chest healed faster and I had less rib pain (both were split sternum entries). The surgeon said they were using a new technique. Seemed to work.

However, everyone is different. You can't gauge what yours will be like from mine. I wish you could.

As far as my heart, I can't go apples to apples, because I had some collateral damage from overprescribed blood pressure meds (not from my current cardiologist), which caused apparently permanent arrhythmias and mild regurgitation in my mitral and tricuspid valves in a spam of two months. This was before the second surgery, so I don't have a direct comparison.

At your age, a mechanical makes sense. At my age, I'll probably get another tissue eventually. Bovine this time, so I can do a sweep of all the top players.

Best wishes,
 
I just marked two years since my second OHS and it was for tissue valve replacement. I also had an easier time with my second surgery than I did the first.....by far. I was only in CICU less than 12 hours. Ate half a sandwich, coffee and was moved to step down. Almost immediately after being settled in step down, my nurse put my four (4) chest tube containers onto a wheel chair, had me hold onto the back and I walked out into the hall and back. This was less than 24 hours post op.

Very sorry to hear you lost your baby and hope you have a successful pregnancy very soon.
Don't worry too much the re-op. It will be what it will be and in the meantime, live your life and be happy.

I chose tissue valve full well knowing they have an 'expiration date' and would rather tissue than mechanical but that is such a personal choice. There is no wrong choice.

Best wishes.
 
I love my mechanical valve! (bad pun but I <3 heart my valve, LOL) I have not felt this good in decades, and each day brings additional improvements in my quality of life, thank God.
 
I am very sorry to hear of your loss. My son has had a few OHS, and will definately need more. Some were better than others, you never know. Since your valve is fairly new, hopefully it lasts a wwhile. Who knows what things will be like by the time this one needs replaced.
 
I recall 2 of our members who chose Bovine Pericardial Tissue Valves in order to have children.
They got about 10 years (and a kid or two) from their tissue valves before switching to Mechanical Valves.
One of them is MNmom. I forgot the other's screeen name.

'AL Capshaw'
 
Good luck with your baby plans. My sister had twins at 48, so you have time, don't worry!
I, too, thought life was different with a mechanical valve after porcine. But, I blamed it on the mechanical valve when I should have blamed it on my leaky (mod to severe) mitral valve which wasn't fixed during my 2nd OHS because I was too ill to go through that long of a surgery. Now that it's been a year since my 3rd OHS, I have found that my heart feels great, like it did with porcine, and I am 20 yrs older, too. So, I think the issue is your general heart health, not the valve type, which has the effect on your activity level. Now that my leaky mitral is repaired, I know that was the problem, not the mechanical valve.
 
Greetings from Tulsa! As a fellow traveler with his own bovine bits my feeling is that we just go out and live our lives. These newer valves may surprise us....life is certain to surprise us. Yes, they may wear out but we should get years of use from them. Another replacement is a concern but not a certainty. If the time does come when we need to trade in the cow or get it repaired, well, both materials and surgical techniques should be that much better than they are today. Who knows? Today labs can use stem cells to grow new bladders. Perhaps by the time we are in need it will be possible to grow a new heart valve. If we allow anxiety for the future to cast a shadow over our lives today, it can rob us of joy.

Bright in the moonlight
Apricots fill the night air
with the wine of spring

Larry
 
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