I visited with the surgeon today and have set up a surgery date of Wednesday, May 9. I will be having open heart mitral valve repair and replace if necessary. I did have the option of the robotic but due to the condition of my heart the surgeon felt it was safer to go the open heart method so he would have more control over the situation plus the fact that I would not have to be on the heart lung half as long as if it were robotic. Believe it or not the robotic surgery is a pretty lengthy procedure even though it is less invasive.
My situation is a little different from most in the fact that my valve is not the actual problem, it is the condition of my heart. I do have cardiomyopathy and my heart is stiff and not supple like it should be. It doesn't beat normally around that valve opening causing it to stay gapped open. The surgeon is going to try and go in and put in a ring and tighten that up so that there will be no leakage. There is no guarantee that it will improve my heart condition but he did guarantee he could improve the leakage. I am a 56 year old female and have been having heart problems for the past 8 years. I had a pacemaker implanted in 2004 and have had a fairly normal life since then but admit I haven't felt 100%. I have had some symptoms through the years like the shortness of breath, fatigue, etc. and it has gradually gotten worse this past year and I know if I don't do something now it will only get even worse and I will end up in a situation to where nothing can be done except run a new one under me and I don't even want to think about that! I am going to go into this tackling one problem at a time. They knew in 2004 my ejection fraction was in the 45% range and it has gradually gotten worse as time has gone on. I am now at 15% and have been there for the past couple of years. I really have been fairly symptom free and led a pretty normal life doing gardening and golfing so the doctors have been watching and waiting. Maybe not such a good idea in hind sight but I am dealing with it and going forward now. I can't question why I didn't push for something to be done and I can't question why the doctors didn't say hey we need to sit down and discuss this. I am definitely the queen of denial and even though I have a surgery date and discussed my problems with a surgeon today I still at times think maybe I really am okay but I know deep down that it needs to be done and it is time. I finally decided in January that something needed to be done so finally here I am.
This forum has been so good for me to come to from time to time and it has answered so many questions for me. I spent one whole afternoon reading about the sticky for things that surprised each of you about the surgeries you have had. That was so interesting. Thanks to this forum I am not too worried about this surgery. I wouldn't be human if I weren't some worried but it really has eased a lot of fears so thanks to all of you for that.
I have an angiogram on Friday, then my long weekend to sit and reflect and within the week I will be on the other side as all you pros say. Thanks in advance for your prayers and support!
My situation is a little different from most in the fact that my valve is not the actual problem, it is the condition of my heart. I do have cardiomyopathy and my heart is stiff and not supple like it should be. It doesn't beat normally around that valve opening causing it to stay gapped open. The surgeon is going to try and go in and put in a ring and tighten that up so that there will be no leakage. There is no guarantee that it will improve my heart condition but he did guarantee he could improve the leakage. I am a 56 year old female and have been having heart problems for the past 8 years. I had a pacemaker implanted in 2004 and have had a fairly normal life since then but admit I haven't felt 100%. I have had some symptoms through the years like the shortness of breath, fatigue, etc. and it has gradually gotten worse this past year and I know if I don't do something now it will only get even worse and I will end up in a situation to where nothing can be done except run a new one under me and I don't even want to think about that! I am going to go into this tackling one problem at a time. They knew in 2004 my ejection fraction was in the 45% range and it has gradually gotten worse as time has gone on. I am now at 15% and have been there for the past couple of years. I really have been fairly symptom free and led a pretty normal life doing gardening and golfing so the doctors have been watching and waiting. Maybe not such a good idea in hind sight but I am dealing with it and going forward now. I can't question why I didn't push for something to be done and I can't question why the doctors didn't say hey we need to sit down and discuss this. I am definitely the queen of denial and even though I have a surgery date and discussed my problems with a surgeon today I still at times think maybe I really am okay but I know deep down that it needs to be done and it is time. I finally decided in January that something needed to be done so finally here I am.
This forum has been so good for me to come to from time to time and it has answered so many questions for me. I spent one whole afternoon reading about the sticky for things that surprised each of you about the surgeries you have had. That was so interesting. Thanks to this forum I am not too worried about this surgery. I wouldn't be human if I weren't some worried but it really has eased a lot of fears so thanks to all of you for that.
I have an angiogram on Friday, then my long weekend to sit and reflect and within the week I will be on the other side as all you pros say. Thanks in advance for your prayers and support!
