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Kevin

Active member
Joined
Oct 2, 2009
Messages
37
Location
Edmonton, Alberta, Canada
Hello. I am a lapsed member. I used to go by the username, Kevin M back in the year 2000 or so.

I just found out I am needing to go in for my 3rd (hopefully final) aortic valve replacment, so I thought I would pop by and catch up with what my favourite information resource and old friends were up to.

It is great to see some of the positive changes that have been made to the website, but more importantly, how the people and the culture have not changed a bit, despite members coming and going.

Thanks for keeping this forum alive. I know it will be a great resource for myself as it has in the past. I hope I can also be there to support others as well.

Kev
 
Kev,

Welcome back. I am sorry to hear your av will need to be replaced. When is surgery?
 
Now why on earth do you want to go and have surgery again? Wasn't two times enough? Glutton for punishment or something? :D
 
well, hey, Kevin. nice to see you again. you will remember some of us.

sorry you are headin up the mountain again but we are still right here to go along with you all the way. keep us in the loop. Blessins.......
 
tissue valves - why?

tissue valves - why?

.
hi kev

sorry to read you are on the road to your third aortic valve replacement. i do not think i could cope with that.

i have always had a fixation to the effect that mechanical valves are the only way to go so as to avoid re ops. personaly i would rather swallow warfarin everyday than face reoperation; 3 ohs would be my nightmare scenario.

presumably your first two valves were tissue? if so, and with the benefit of hindsight, do you regret not opting for a mechanical valve in the first instance? have the first 2 tissue valves given you some benefit greater than the drama of re ops?

westie
 
Welcome back Kevin and be sure let us know your date
Just had my 2nd surgery in Edmonton in Jan.
What hospital and who will be your doc when you know,the answers
maybe youd be willing to share.

Your getting to be a pro (3rdSurgery) but i think however many
The waits as bad along with the anxiety of it all that part never
gets any easier no matter # of surgeries,so glad you chose to
allow us to be part of your surgery.sure we will hear more from you
and look forward to your posts
 
westie said:
.
..... presumably your first two valves were tissue? if so, and with the benefit of hindsight, do you regret not opting for a mechanical valve in the first instance? have the first 2 tissue valves given you some benefit greater than the drama of re ops?

westie
Click to expand...

Yes, my first two replacements were tissue. A Homograft and then a Stentless Pig Valve. Both times, I was assured they would last a lot longer than they did.

I was only 24 when I had my first operation and really did not want to be on the coumadin at that age since I liked to do things that would be heavily frowned upon in combination with blood thinners.

The tissue valve wore out after 11 years; which wasn't a huge surprise. At the time, the calcification of Homografts was not nearly known as it is now.

The docs thought the stentless would last me at least 15-20 years. Here it is 8 years later and the darn thing is nearly done.

So, this time I have to go mechanical. No real options left for a third operation.

To answer your question - I do not regret going tissue in either case, but I admit I would have loved to see another 5-10 years out of this pig valve, but it is not to be.

I've been able to live a lifestyle without worrying about he diet or the bleeding stuff and to me, it has been worth it.

I guess I kept holding on with the tissue valves, hoping that next time around, there might be something new and better. It's always a crapshoot.

I am quite a bit more nervous about this third operation. There are a lot more complications that can come up. Scarring and other stuff. I'm only 43 though, so I'm pretty sure I'll come through with no issues.

It is my deepest hope that this will be my final operation and that new, safer blood thinner products will come on the market soon.

To say I'm not scared would be a lie - knowing what I know now - I suppose I do have regrets of not moving to mechanical for the second operation. But that is only because the darn thing lasted not nearly as long as they normally do.

I don't know what I do to burn these things out, but I've been assured the mechanical will put an end to that.
Kev
 
Welcome back, Kevin. Sorry it has to be under these circumstances. I'm sure all will go well. My hubby had aortic replacement with a mechanical 7 years ago......the coumadin isn't bad to deal with and we really don't worry about his diet too much. I'm sure you will deal with the blood thinners fine.

Again, good luck with your replacement.

Evelyn
 
Kevin Coumadin isn't nearly as bad as your imagining. Ever single person is told a whole bunch of rubbish, then it's up to you to find out what the truth is. Truth is, eat like you always have. No reason you need to change your diet. You are not an eggshell that will break if touched. The sad part is, all these myths are still, to this day, being circulated and propagated by the medical field. If your a non-compliant patient, then yes, the snake will bite you, but if you take proper care and become actively involved in your own care, it's a minor annoyance.
 
Kevin said:
Yes, my first two replacements were tissue. A Homograft and then a Stentless Pig Valve. Both times, I was assured they would last a lot longer than they did.

I was only 24 when I had my first operation and really did not want to be on the coumadin at that age since I liked to do things that would be heavily frowned upon in combination with blood thinners.

The tissue valve wore out after 11 years; which wasn't a huge surprise. At the time, the calcification of Homografts was not nearly known as it is now.

The docs thought the stentless would last me at least 15-20 years. Here it is 8 years later and the darn thing is nearly done.

So, this time I have to go mechanical. No real options left for a third operation.

To answer your question - I do not regret going tissue in either case, but I admit I would have loved to see another 5-10 years out of this pig valve, but it is not to be.

I've been able to live a lifestyle without worrying about he diet or the bleeding stuff and to me, it has been worth it.

I guess I kept holding on with the tissue valves, hoping that next time around, there might be something new and better. It's always a crapshoot.

I am quite a bit more nervous about this third operation. There are a lot more complications that can come up. Scarring and other stuff. I'm only 43 though, so I'm pretty sure I'll come through with no issues.

It is my deepest hope that this will be my final operation and that new, safer blood thinner products will come on the market soon.

To say I'm not scared would be a lie - knowing what I know now - I suppose I do have regrets of not moving to mechanical for the second operation. But that is only because the darn thing lasted not nearly as long as they normally do.

I don't know what I do to burn these things out, but I've been assured the mechanical will put an end to that.
Kev
Click to expand...

IF you don't mind, I'm curious what pig valve you have. I'm wonderring if it is one of the metronics that others seem to be having problems with earlier than expected. What is the problem with it, meaning something on the seems, calcified or something with the valve?
Good luck with your upcoming surgery.
 
good luck

good luck

kevin, good luck with your operation; the good thing about it is you should be able to look to the future without thoughts about re ops.

catherine burnett at on-x corporation commented to me that sales of all mechanical valves had fallen due to all the horror stories thrown around about warfarin; making many people opt for tissue valves even though re ops were guaranteed. but those of us already on warfarin know it is a load of crap. a tiny bit of intelligence and a home tester are all that is required.
(even my own cardiologist and surgeon said i should be worried about warfarin and mechanical valves as they were a terrible thing, though they prefer not to be reminded about this after the attempt at repairing my mitral valve failed!)

i am just thankfull i have got a mechanical valve; tissue valves and mitral valve repairs just do not seem to last as long as they are ment to. i am sure mechanical will work out great for you too.
 
Lynlw said:
IF you don't mind, I'm curious what pig valve you have. I'm wonderring if it is one of the metronics that others seem to be having problems with earlier than expected. What is the problem with it, meaning something on the seems, calcified or something with the valve?
Good luck with your upcoming surgery.
Click to expand...

Yes, it is the Medtronics Freestyle that I have right now. Not sure what happened yet. Will learn more after transesophageal echo and angiogram. When I find out, I will post for sure.
k
 
Thank you, everyone. For your support and comments.

Back in the "old days", there was a ton of chatter about how bad Warfarin is/was. I think due to my youth at the time and the pressure from the doc's; I was very afraid to go mechanical.

It is great to hear from you mech people and hear your affirmations about it not being a big deal. Thanks! I'll keep you posted as I learn more.

In the meantime, I hope to catch up on some much overdue reading on this forum and see if I can somehow reciprocate.
Kev
 
Kevin, just remember the old saying:

THIRD TIME IS A CHARM!!!

I'm 68 and got a mechanical valve in Feb. 09. Have had no problems with warfarin or making changes to my diet.....eat like I always have. Have not had any alcohol in about 40 years so that's not an issue, but understand it is just like your food intake...adjust the warfarin, not the food and drink.

Also, FYI, my St. Judes mechanical does not make a sound....haven't heard one click since it was installed. What happened to you is exactly what my cardio said to me, "There are no guarantees with the tissue valves...some last a long time but others fail and you're stuck with another surgery sooner than expected."

Best of luck and we'll be here supporting you.

Midge
 
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