Carla Marquardt
Member
So I'm 35 and was born with BAS and Reg. it was always very mild and was never suppose to effect me or so I was told.... My last Echo was 3 years ago and there had been no change since I was a little girl. UNTILL a month ago... I was 12 weeks pregnant and super excited, had my echo and my world turned upside down! It had turned into a very severe and I was told that they needed to get me in ASAP and could not keep my baby alive for many weeks yet, and didn't think that i would even make it that long. So last week at almost 16 weeks we had to terminate. So this week I will be doing pre-op and it is sounding like next week will be surgery.
So there is my sad story and now I look for info, inspiration and any words of advise that anyone can give me! I am still going back and forth on what type of valve, I thought mech. But then my np said that they have made so many advances in the pig/cow valves that by the time I needed it replaced it would be more like a balloon... Any thoughts? Aftercare?
So there is my sad story and now I look for info, inspiration and any words of advise that anyone can give me! I am still going back and forth on what type of valve, I thought mech. But then my np said that they have made so many advances in the pig/cow valves that by the time I needed it replaced it would be more like a balloon... Any thoughts? Aftercare?
But, if I were a woman and having children were important to me, and a tissue valve greatly simplified that, I could see having made a different decision. Everyone on the site will tell you it's a personal decision. My wife said if she were me, she would have gotten a tissue valve (and believe me, she had all the same information I had). For her, that would have been the right decision, in part because she is terrible about remembering to take pills. I'm more type-A, so I wasn't as worried about forgetting to take my coumadin. The good news is that both options (tissue or mechanical) are VERY GOOD! I don't think you can make a wrong choice here - either way, you will be infinitely better off I think. I asked a lot of people who didn't need new valve what they would do if they were me. I got a whole spectrum of responses. Some liked tissue better because "it's more natural and works more similarly to the way the body already works". As far as the prospect of a valve-in-valve (balloon) replacement down the road, the technology definitely seems to be advancing on that front. Right now, it's only used in folks who have a high surgical risk, but someday it may be commonplace. I think most on the site would tell you that there are no guarantees, but that advancements related to both tissue (last longer; possible valve-in-valve in the future) and mechanical valves (lower-risk anticoagulation; valves that don't need as much anticoagulation) are being made at a steady pace. So the future looks bright for both. My surgeon even advised me to get a tissue valve. He believes that the new tissue valves will last even longer than the ones in most people today (search for posts by Norm-of-the-North - he did his homework and picked a great valve - he's also a case study in a journal paper now). Eventually, my surgeon agreed to give me a mechanical valve when he realized I had already successfully self-managed coumadin for another previous issue. But he installs 99% tissue. The nice thing about tissue is that for many people, once it is in, you forget about - and life goes on. A key bit of wisdom I got from this site is that there are no guarantees with either valve. With a tissue valve, you might end up needing coumadin anyway (if you get atrial fibrillation, for example). And with a mechanical valve, you might end up needing a reoperation anyway (due to pannas growth, for example). So with either valve, you are placing a bet. But they are both good bets. And if you still want to have a child, the decision may be determined primarily by that. I think others on the site would be much more knowledgeable than me on that point.
