My New Favorite Baseball Player....Aaron Boone

[Rush20]

Although I'm a hard core Chicago White Sox fan, Aaron Boone has now become the player that I am most rooting for. He had OHS in late March to replace his Aortic valve and was able to get back to the major leagues less than six months later! Great story! Another high-profile example of this life saving procedure!

http://mlb.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20090902&content_id=6751030&vkey=news_mlb&fext=.jsp&c_id=mlb

 

[netmiff]

yeah, quite the success story and role model for many others to follow.

 

[tcopel]

how cool is that

 

[Reddog]

Aaron Boone (Baseball) and Ronny Turiaf (Basketball) both had David-Type Valve-Sparing Aorta Replacements by Dr. Craig Miller at Stanford. I agree that it's very cool that both were able to return to their sports after surgery.

I had similar surgery by Dr. Miller this year. I should have asked, "Doctor, will I be able to play the piano, baseball, and basketball after surgery?", but I know that the answer would have been "no, no, and definitely no!"

 

[Rush20]

Aaron Boone (Baseball) and Ronny Turiaf (Basketball) both had David-Type Valve-Sparing Aorta Replacements by Dr. Craig Miller at Stanford. I agree that it's very cool that both were able to return to their sports after surgery.

I had similar surgery by Dr. Miller this year. I should have asked, "Doctor, will I be able to play the piano, baseball, and basketball after surgery?", but I know that the answer would have been "no, no, and definitely no!"

What is a David-Type Valve-Sparing Aorta Replacement? It sounds like they replace the actual aorta vs. the aortic valve.

 

[tobagotwo]

This is an excellent time to use some of the resources on the site, both the Advanced Search capability and the References Forum. There is a lot of information that has already been posted by and from many different sources.

These are pieces of three of my own earlier posts of the David and Yacoub procedures, but I'm sure there are many others out there that may more directly apply to your interest:

…The David and Yacoub Procedures are procedures that allow the aortic root to be repaired and the original valve to be reused in its normal position. They were developed to repair aortic root dilation or aneurysm, and may involve a three-leafed valve or a bicuspid one.

Neither of these procedures addresses BAV repair, which involves reshaping the valve's cusps and ensuring a tight, non-regurgitant (non-leaking) closure, bringing it back to its original status as a competent, but still bicuspid valve. Between 20% and 50% of repaired bicuspid valves (depending on which site you are visiting) have to be replaced within ten years, occasionally within days or months, if the repair is a failure out of the gate.

…It sounds like you are referring to the David procedure, whish is more commonly used than the Yacoub procedure. Both procedures are still being used and modified, but the David Procedure nearly does away with reoperations for the same issue.

Stanford says their rate is 1.2% for the David procedure (valve-sparing procedure). Johns-Hopkins puts theirs at 1.5%. St luke's Roosevelt is at 2.3%. I was unable to locate Cleveland Clinic's numbers, but they would be at the same level.

For perspective, these numbers are lower than the statistical chance of an untreated 4.5cm aneurysm (or even a smaller one) causing death to its owner over the next year, according to charts that have been posted elsewhere.

…When he says leave the valve untouched, I think he is referring to the cusps. Both the David Reimplantation Procedure (and its modifications) and the Yacoub Remodelling procedure involve reimplanting (sewing) the base of the valve to the new root graft, so there is considerable "touching" of the valve going on.

These two procedures are all about the repair of the aorta. They are not about doing anything to the valve annulus (opening) or cusps. The valve actually remains attached to the left ventricle during the procedures, with the graft being fitted to the outside of it. The valve is involved only inthat it's being sutured into the new graft from the inside.

Best wishes,

 

[Bryan B]

This is the surgery (David) I might be having soon (mid Nov - mid Jan). My surgeon said that right now he feels there is about a 70% chance he can save the valve as the leaflets of my autograft still look good. I'm having another echo in mid November and we will make a decision at that time. If he decides the odds are too low for a repair we will watch it closely and stall as long as possible to possibly give me more options when it's time to replace the valve along with the aorta (up to ascending arch). I'm on amlodipine, metoprolol, and enalipril right now to try and slow up any progression. Actually I was on the amlodipine since March (before the MRI results showed the advanced dilation) because my BP was in the moderate hypertension stage (even at home with regular monitoring).

I remember when Boone made that announcement but had forgotten about it. I'm glad he made it back to MLB and it proves that life can get back to normal after surgery.

 

[wcasey5]

That's awesome!

 

[BAVD John]

Yep, no doubt that the Aaron Boone story is an inspiration for us all. However, with that being said I think we are all an inspiration to each other. I can't tell you how much comfort I have recieved from reading many posts on this board. There are many fine people here that have endured valve replacement one or more times and have given countless comfort and advice to us all. All those unselfish posters that always seem to be here for us are some of my hero's.