jmo3
Member
Hello,
I am technically new to the forums but have been checking here often over the past few months. I want to first and foremost thank the creators of and contributors to this site; it has been a very rich and helpful resource as I was preparing for and now as I am recovering from surgery.
As a child I was misdiagnosed as having mitral valve prolapse. It wasn’t until I was 34 years old that an astute PCP heard something else. A cardiologist then discovered that my “murmur” was actually due to a bicuspid aortic valve. With mild regurgitation it was a watch and wait scenario that lasted 12 years.
I am now 46 years old and although I was asymptomatic the regurgitation had become severe enough and my left ventricle was getting large enough to warrant valve replacement. I chose to get an ON-X mechanical valve.
My surgery took place exactly six weeks ago on July 1[SUP]st [/SUP]at Weill Cornell Medical Center in NYC. My surgeon was Dr. Leonard Girardi. I cannot speak highly enough of him and his team; I feel very fortunate to have found a surgeon with such an exceptional level of knowledge, experience and skill.
I was back at work after one month (on August 1[SUP]st[/SUP] - I’m a teacher and administrator at a school in NYC) and today I am feeling really good. I attribute this to my age, my attitude/outlook pre and post-surgery, my dedication to walking (averaging almost four miles a day over the past month) and my wife. ;-)
The only lingering issue is a one inch opening at the bottom of my chest incision (not the chest tube holes, just an open portion of the incision) that I have been packing myself at home for the past couple of weeks. It is healing nicely but has been kind of annoying to deal with. Has anyone else had an issue with this?
Anyway, if anyone would like more details regarding my experience, preparation and/or recovery I’'d be happy to post more here or to chat via private messaging.
Best regards,
jmo3
I am technically new to the forums but have been checking here often over the past few months. I want to first and foremost thank the creators of and contributors to this site; it has been a very rich and helpful resource as I was preparing for and now as I am recovering from surgery.
As a child I was misdiagnosed as having mitral valve prolapse. It wasn’t until I was 34 years old that an astute PCP heard something else. A cardiologist then discovered that my “murmur” was actually due to a bicuspid aortic valve. With mild regurgitation it was a watch and wait scenario that lasted 12 years.
I am now 46 years old and although I was asymptomatic the regurgitation had become severe enough and my left ventricle was getting large enough to warrant valve replacement. I chose to get an ON-X mechanical valve.
My surgery took place exactly six weeks ago on July 1[SUP]st [/SUP]at Weill Cornell Medical Center in NYC. My surgeon was Dr. Leonard Girardi. I cannot speak highly enough of him and his team; I feel very fortunate to have found a surgeon with such an exceptional level of knowledge, experience and skill.
I was back at work after one month (on August 1[SUP]st[/SUP] - I’m a teacher and administrator at a school in NYC) and today I am feeling really good. I attribute this to my age, my attitude/outlook pre and post-surgery, my dedication to walking (averaging almost four miles a day over the past month) and my wife. ;-)
The only lingering issue is a one inch opening at the bottom of my chest incision (not the chest tube holes, just an open portion of the incision) that I have been packing myself at home for the past couple of weeks. It is healing nicely but has been kind of annoying to deal with. Has anyone else had an issue with this?
Anyway, if anyone would like more details regarding my experience, preparation and/or recovery I’'d be happy to post more here or to chat via private messaging.
Best regards,
jmo3