New member in process of scheduling surgery

[thenewmarket]

My husband was diagnosed with an ascending aortic aneurysm (5.1)through a routine physical x-ray. We are so blessed this was found and the more I read the more I realize this truth! He has had a heart cath, TEE, echo, and CT. We have received confusing information from different doctors concerning AVR. One says yes and another says no. We have forwarded all our information to Cleveland Clinic and we have heard back from them that they feel he is a candidate for surgery. They will consult with us about the AVR, etc. and then schedule surgery. My question is this for those who went to Cleveland Clinic.......how long did it take for them to schedule the initial consult after they called and told you that you were a surgery candidate? We were not classified as "urgent" but "necessary".

This is like a bad dream.......my husband is the absolute picture of health. He has no symptoms, he exercises daily, he doesn't smoke, he doesn't drink, he eats a healthy diet! There is no family history for any type of heart problems or Marfans..........we are totally shocked but we are most grateful!!

 

[Phyllis]

Welcome, so glad you found us! I have no experience with Cleveland Clinic, but many here do and they will be along shortly to help (it's kind of slow on weekends). Dick also had no symptoms and his bad aortic valve was found at a routine doctor's appt. when they heard a murmur and scheduled an echo exam. Being in good health and good shape is going to go a long ways towards helping him have an easier recovery. He will be fine and we will be here to help with any and all questions you may have.

 

[ALCapshaw2]

Welcome to our world. LUCKY FIND on the aneurism.

YES, that definitely needs to be 'fixed'.

We have several Cleveland Clinic "Graduates" so hopefully some of them will respond. It may be more productive to actually start another thread with Cleveland Clinic in the Subject Line to catch their attention.

Some CC Grads include

Perkicar
Randy and (???)
Christina (from Colorado -I hope that is the right spelling)

'AL Capshaw'

 

[Ross]

That's the wonderful thing about aneurysms, they can kill you in a flash and you may never have any symptoms except the one that got you. I nearly bought the farm when mine ruptured. Not many survive a rupture, but there are 3 or 4 of us here that have.

It's hard to say how soon you'll get going. There case loads up there vary dramatically all the time. If your not urgent, then most likely within a month, but I'm just guessing.

 

[Philip B]

Good Catch!

Good Catch!

It sounds like your doctor made a good catch on the aneurysm.

Mine was 5.8 when they caught it while running a cath to check my defective aortic valve. I had no symptoms of the defective valve other than a heart murmur. The presence of the aneurysm was a real shock. My surgery was scheduled within three weeks after they found the aneurysm.

My surgeon told me it is typical for those of us with aortic valve defects to have issues with defective tissue in the aorta which increases the probability of aneurysms. I would certainly seek the advice of doctors you guys trust when you weigh the options of surgery. It would be a real bummer to have an aortic graft done, recover, and have to undergo AVR surgery later.

-Philip

 

[WayneGM]

Welcome to the VR community. Sorry for the circumstances but glad you found us. Your doctor made a good catch on the aneurysm.

Like your husband, I wasn't having any symptoms, and had never been really sick or injured in my life, when they told me I needed OHS. It was a shock, but I'm totally grateful and have no regrets about having OHS. Best wishes to both of you.

 

[catwoman]

This is like a bad dream.

Yup, that's how I felt -- and I did have symptoms. Told my husband I felt like I'd wake up and everything would be back to normal.

But, of course, life isn't that way. But, everything did work out.

On whether to replace the aortic valve at the time the aorta is repaired: I've seen a number of folks here who had an aortic aneurysm repaired, then had to go back some years later for an AV replacement. I've been curious as to why the valve wasn't replaced at the time, what factors surgeons consider, etc., in determining whether to replace valve during aneurysm repair.
Many times, the valve is replaced during the repair surgery.

Will be interested in hearing what you find out at the Cleveland Clinic.

 

[Tom F.]

Let me comment on the question of valve replacement or not. In the past the aortic valve was always replaced if one had surgery to fix an aneurysm of the ascending aorta. Some time ago Dr. David, a surgeon living in Toronto, and probably one of the best there is, started to attempt to repair, and not replace, aortic valves during aneurysm surgery. The key factor in the decision was whether the aortic valve was otherwise normal, and not bicuspid. Bicuspid valves generally do not repair well. However, where there is a normal aortic valve increasingly doctors are trying to save the valve when they fix an aneurysm. This surgery is generally known as a "David type" valve sparing procedure. They do them at Cleveland and at most major heart center hospitals. I had this procedure in 2002. There are a few others here that have as well. The internet has a lot of great info on this procedure. Good luck, and if you need more info from me you can either PM me or drop an e mail.

 

[tcopel]

Hey TomF, good to see you. Just a quick note to thenewmarket. I, like you and your husband, was absolutely shocked to find that I had a 5.8cm ascending aortic aneursym when I felt as healthy as could be. When I could finally catch my breath about this whole thing, I went to work on what my options were, pros and cons of everything I could lay my hands on and eventually found docs who have experience with the surgery that I needed. I would encourage you would do the same in being proactive. It seems the
Cleveland clinic has a really good reputation. My advice is to ask every question you can think of to your doctors (write them down if you need to when you visit the doc) Become as knowledgable about your options regarding valve types including the David surgery that TomF mentions. And, as a reassuring measure, there are many here on the site who have been in you and your husbands shoes. Its a scary time. My surgery was 9 weeks ago for the same thing your husband has and all is well. I suspect your path will be similiar.