river-wear
Well-known member
Hi everybody,
As some of you know, I had a TEE a few weeks ago so my surgeon could get a better look at my regurgitant aortic valve. I knew the follow-up was going to be interesting when Dr. Castro starts with "I've never seen a valve quite like yours before." Lucky, eh? Going in, I had reports saying it "might" be bicuspid and that was about it. The TTE we had looked at in my first appointment barely showed a shadow where the valve should be.
He showed me the TEE and said I definitely have a BAV. And maybe it's just the way it was when I was born. He thinks it's much more likely I had endocarditis and it resolved on its own. This is because where the two flaps are fused, there's a big v-shaped cleft that could have been caused by erosion along the fused margin from the infection. That makes me feel kind of lucky to be alive. It also fits in with some other facts. I was diagnosed with the murmur when I was four years old (and went for my pre-kindergarten physical). Within a year before that I had an abscessed tooth that had to be pulled. It's possible that any fever I would have had would be attributed to the infection, and the antibiotics could have helped fight off the endocarditis.
The "cleft" in my valve leaves about 15% of the area open to constant flow back and forth. Now I also feel lucky it's lasted this long. Even better, depending on the condition of the valve itself, Dr. Castro thinks it wouldn't be difficult to fix. The CorMatrix (http://www.cormatrix.com/) stuff they use is really cool - my own cells would grow over it and ultimately resorb the patch material.
I don't really have any questions right now, but you guys are such a great support and I thought you might find the story interesting. I am a bit concerned about something I read about endocarditis is more of a risk for people who have had it before. I know Gail and a few others of you have had it, but I don't think anyone has been that unlucky twice. I hope.
As some of you know, I had a TEE a few weeks ago so my surgeon could get a better look at my regurgitant aortic valve. I knew the follow-up was going to be interesting when Dr. Castro starts with "I've never seen a valve quite like yours before." Lucky, eh? Going in, I had reports saying it "might" be bicuspid and that was about it. The TTE we had looked at in my first appointment barely showed a shadow where the valve should be.
He showed me the TEE and said I definitely have a BAV. And maybe it's just the way it was when I was born. He thinks it's much more likely I had endocarditis and it resolved on its own. This is because where the two flaps are fused, there's a big v-shaped cleft that could have been caused by erosion along the fused margin from the infection. That makes me feel kind of lucky to be alive. It also fits in with some other facts. I was diagnosed with the murmur when I was four years old (and went for my pre-kindergarten physical). Within a year before that I had an abscessed tooth that had to be pulled. It's possible that any fever I would have had would be attributed to the infection, and the antibiotics could have helped fight off the endocarditis.
The "cleft" in my valve leaves about 15% of the area open to constant flow back and forth. Now I also feel lucky it's lasted this long. Even better, depending on the condition of the valve itself, Dr. Castro thinks it wouldn't be difficult to fix. The CorMatrix (http://www.cormatrix.com/) stuff they use is really cool - my own cells would grow over it and ultimately resorb the patch material.
I don't really have any questions right now, but you guys are such a great support and I thought you might find the story interesting. I am a bit concerned about something I read about endocarditis is more of a risk for people who have had it before. I know Gail and a few others of you have had it, but I don't think anyone has been that unlucky twice. I hope.
