length of mechanical valve

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Getzfixed

I watched an avr surgery last night on Discovery Health. They put a St. Judes valve in a 67 year old man. The man said this valve was guaranteed for 20 years. We've been told (from almost everyone) that the mechanical will last a lifetime. My question is will this valve last me a lifetime, or will I be in need of another surgery should I choose mechanical? :confused:
 
Getzfixed


I have a mechanical valve. I was told that
the mechanical valve has been proven to outlast
other valve types. But nothing can be guaranteed.
It has been two years since it was replaced and I am still
ticking! I know there are people on the sight who could
answer your question better. Hope you here from them.

Take care:) Judy
 
Hi GETZ,

I would first point out that St Judes makes more than just mechanical heart valves. They also make Tissue valves! Such as, porcine (pig) valve. Which type of valve are you refering to?

I have a St Judes Aortic Mehcanical Heart Valve. My doctors tell me that it will last a life time, And I was 50 at the time of surgery.

Tissue valves have an average life of 5 to 20 yrs depending on the type, and many other factors. This seems to be a grey area as to how long the tissues last. But, for the most part you may be safe tp say a 10 to 20 yr life span for tissue valves.

You should look at the "Heart Related Links" on our home page here, and visit the St Judes Site. They have alot of information about valves there.

Regards,

Rob
 
After my MVR, the doctors gave me a "lifetime" warrenty, they never said who's LIFETIME.......
 
Whos lifetime is a good question.

They have been implanting mechanical valves for a little over 30 years, correct? In a young patient like myself, 30 at the time of my MVR. Was told they do last a lifetime....but my surgeon relays this to his patients that are in their early 50's- 60's. Yes, in that case that valve should be sufficient without redo.

We cannot trace the longevity back to longer than they have been implanting. From what I have seem they last about 27-29 years. It is not the valve that wears out.... but the sutures and or where the valve is sewn in starts to unravel causing a peri-valvular leak necessitating replacement.

I am expecting that in my lifetime, sometime in my late 50's early 60's that I will be facing surgery once again. The reason I chose the mechanical is that with multiple redos say every 10 years at best......would not be around past age 50. When you look at the mortality rates on third time redos they are unfortunately very low. Too much scar tissue to contend with. I am not saying that it is not posiable, but in my case was willing to deal with the Coumadin in hopes to avoid multiple redos. No guaretees like someone mentioned above. Very personal decision. I am sure you will make the proper choice for youself when the time comes.
Good luck to you.
 
Last edited:
As a 3 timer, Aortic, (41 years old) the mortality is not as bad as one would think. As long as the heart muscle is not damaged, and there are no complications you have as good as the previous 2. I asked my Cardio on this, and he said the biggest thing these days is not just the valves but the management of the heart while the heart is stopped and they are working on you. The solutions used to bath the heart, and the advanced techniques get in and out in less and less time. I having a lifetime valve "St. Judes mechanical" was concerned about the fourth time.

Sam
 
The valve they implanted on the discovery show was a St Jude's mechanical and they did say it would only last about 20 yrs.My surgeon has recommended a carbomedics carboseal valve and he too told me it would last a lifetime. I then pressed him on how long a "lifetime" is. I know I have plenty of products in my home that have a limited lifetime warranty that only lasts 15-20 years. Without giving an outright guarantee , he said the actual valve will last forever. I guess only time will tell.
 
I was told to expect 25 years. I was 36 when I had my mitral valve surgery 3 1/2 years ago, so that should get me to 61. As Gina said, it's not the valve that wears out, it's the sutures. They say you either get leaks around the valve, infections that damage the tissues, or small clots that cause damage over time. I think the valve itself is pretty indestructible. I was also told that with each redo, the mortality rate is higher, so the mechanical valve was a better option for the young.
 
I would agree that lifetime is set to a different drummer. But even for twenty years is better than one year or five or ten years. I am not quite ready to have surgery again anytime soon. The longer is stays, the better. No comlications, the longer the surgery is put off. But I am proud of the decision of the mechanical valve, lasts longer.

Caroline
09-13-01
Aortic valve replacement
St. Jude's valve
 
St. Jude Aortic Mechanical Valve

St. Jude Aortic Mechanical Valve

When I received my valve in 1999, my surgeon told me the valve would last a lifetime. The only bad part of a mechanical valve is having to take Coumadin for a lifetime. But, if it keeps me ticking, I can't complain.

:D
 
Guaranteed

Guaranteed

I'll "take a licking and keep on ticking" with "two-two mints at once" St. Jude Mechanical valves!

Just believe.

Hey Getzfixed, when exactly was that Discovery Health aired?
 
2x AVR

2x AVR

I had a AVR in March 2008 after Bacterial Endocarditis. The valve (St Jude) failed(the surrounding tissue, despite the 1 million units/hour of Amoxicilan(sp).
The 2nd surgery was successful, but the valve size went from a 28MM to a 25MM.
I would have chosen a homograft and risked a redo, as I am a serious and intense athlete and the deconditioning has been difficult and psychologically
painful.
I went with another mechanical because the docs advised that I would be dead in 7-10 days without the AVR and locating a homograft may take longer.
I am on blood thinners/ thyroid meds and epilepsy drugs and depression meds (the bacterial infection caused a brain bleed in my right frontal lobe)
I am not in fear of a 3rd redo, albeit fraught with higher risk then the 1st redo.
I will attempt to gain back as much of my prior cardiac fitness as before this condition, but it is painfully slow.My strength training is back to pre-surgery fitness, albeit discouraged by the cardiologists. My research indicates they err to the conservative position. My experience is that they believe that most patients don't choose to research their own health sufficiently, so they place everyone in the same band of nutrition and rehabilitation. If you listen to the doctors without being your own advocate, they may kill you or in the least, make you deconditioned, overweight, depressed and inflicted with a host of other disease processes as a result of a passive lifestyle and heavy drug regimen.
None of the Docs that I was under the care of understand the morphology of an athletes heart, describing the enlarged left ventricle as Cardiomyopathy, when it is really Physiologic Left Ventricular Hypertrophy. The difference is that the heart is adapted to work at high intensities and to pump more blood than an untrained person. So, they treat you as if you have a disease state.
Initially, they had me on lopressor to control my blood pressure. Being that my normal bp was 100/70, with the drug, it sometimes dropped to 80/45, which caused dizziness and lightheadedness. Finally one Doctor took me off the drug, after recommending that for a few weeks, skip the drug when bp was below 90/60.
The Docs like to medicate and many of them are offended when they are challenged with research a patient has performed.
I may sound cynical, but after 120 days in hospital and rehabilitation, I consider myself experienced and versed in caregivers styles and knowledge. I will say, that most of my treatment from the nurses was fantastic and my "hat is off" to them!
If anyone wants to hear more of my rant, please email or PM me. (Email address removed for user safety)
 
X3

X3

I was told in '00 that my new carbomedic mechanical would last my lifetime, I was 46.
My story is similar but much more positive than the previous poster.
After being treated for 6 wks with 3 kinds of antibiotics for bacterial endocarditis (staphlococcis lugdunensis), I found out my valves were indeed affected (my existing natural leaking mitral and my mechanical aortic,not the actual valve, but the ring around it was leaking and I had issues with my aorta having pockets from the infection).
So, the valve I always thought would last my lifetime only lasted 8.5yrs, sigh.
I also had a brain bleed before being diagnosed with BE. I wasn't a super athlete, just a aerobic type, walking person. However, I had a 12 hr surgery, and ended up with another carbomedics valve and mitral repair. My heart feels really good, like it was before I got my 1st mechanical. I don't know why someone would be told it would be hard to find the right homograft?
My surgeon didn't mention that difficulty at all, and that was one of the valve choices he told me about. He wouldn't decide until he got in there and saw what he had to work with. That would've only lasted 10 yrs, so it was not his first choice. Now, I am much more anxious about getting BE again, and having it affect my new valves. I didn't know anything about BE before I got it.I liked being ignorant!
 
Just wanted to follow up on a couple of comments about "sutures wearing out". I'd have thought that your own tissue would grow over/around them, so that valve ends up being held in by your own tissue. Is that not the case ?

Ade
 
If this man was 67 then it is slightly surprising that they didn't use a tissue valve.

When discussing with my surgeon whether to have tissue or mechanical I opted for mechanical as I was 57 and there would be less chance of requiring further surgery when I was in my 70s.
 
Bacterial Endocarditis is serious enough to kill you. It wouldn't have mattered what valve you had. If your valve became infected, it would be replaced regardless or you wouldn't be here to tell us your story.

Who is at risk for developing bacterial endocarditis?
Patients most at risk of developing bacterial endocarditis include those who have:

•An artificial (prosthetic) heart valve, including bioprosthetic and homograft valves
•Previous bacterial endocarditis
•Certain congenital heart diseases
•Acquired valve disease (for example, rheumatic heart disease)
•Heart valve disease that develops after heart transplantation
•Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM)
•Mitral valve prolapse with valve regurgitation (leaking) and/or thickened valve leaflets

http://my.clevelandclinic.org/heart/disorders/valve/sbe.aspx

While I'm sorry the endocarditis has interrupted your life, be thankful you have a life. You have a high amount of anger that seems to be misplaced. It's not the valves fault that it got infected. I'm trying to figure out why they'd use Amoxicillin as the antibiotic to treat such a deadly infection. Vancomycin I would have thought would be the drug of choice.
 
acr said:
Just wanted to follow up on a couple of comments about "sutures wearing out". I'd have thought that your own tissue would grow over/around them, so that valve ends up being held in by your own tissue. Is that not the case ?

Ade
Click to expand...

That's the way it's supposed to be, but not everyones tissues do what they should. Some peoples tissue is simply poor to stitch to, to start with.
 
nothing is set in stone,as my cardio said, we wish we could,hence its one of the most difficult decisions we have to make?hopefully in the near future we will have a valve that does last a lifetime and needs no anti coags,until then its choose your type and be happy with it,remember its your choice,
 
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