leak in valve

[sparrow]

hi;
i had avr replacement surgery on aug 15 2001. came through the surgery fine. the surgeon said i had the worse valve he ever saw. it was replaced with a st, judes mechanical. went to my cardio. and they said i have a small leak in the same valve. i have no symptoms. 3 months later they did another echo and said the leak has not gotten any worse. are there any of you out there with the same problem?. what is the long term prognosis if the leak doesn't get any bigger. i don't want to do this again.the cardio. told me that if there is no change they will leave it alone.

 

[Nancy]

My husband sprung a leak in his mitral valve. He had severe symptoms, although his TEE said the leak was mild to moderate. They didn't operate for several months, but his condition worsened to the point that the surgery was imperative.

If the leak is small and there are no changes in your heart and you have few symptoms, my guess is that they will leave it alone and monitor you often, looking for changes, Even if there are some symptoms, they can still do things with meds to help the situation.

I'm quite sure that they won't operate unless it becomes absolutely necessary. Your cardiologist is your new best friend on this one. Stay close to him and do as he says.

By the way, my husband's leak was able to be repaired, through the side instead of through the sternum. The surgeon took a couple of stitches to close the leak. The valve was always in good working order mechanically.

Hope you stay symptom free.