on-x valve - scream now if its a dud!

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i blame www.valvereplacement.com

i blame www.valvereplacement.com

Marty said:
I never thought to question my surgeon as to his choice of valve. I guess this is the new way of doing things. Lay people, telling the surgeon what to do. I can see, if a patient has his/her heart set on an On-X valve that they consult enough surgeons till they find one that uses On-X without being prompted by the patient.
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i suggest your stance is quite victorian; indeed, if you were to actually adhere to your missive, you would receive all your medical information from your surgeon etc and you would have no need to belong to valvereplacement.com.

it is all the fault of this site from which i learned there is a choice of valves available, and those before me made choices different to their surgeon.

in the dark ages, doctors told their patients what they deemed they should know and made all the decisions. in these enlightened times, at least in our little social welfare state, we are encouraged to learn about our health issues and participate in decisions.

our 10 point code of health consumers rights states (abbreviated)
right 2 - no-one should ....push you into doing something or making a decision you are not happy with
right 5 - you have a right to be listened to, understood and receive information in which ever way you need...
right 6 - your condition should be fully explained to you. to allow you to make choices for possible treatments........

sounds fair enough to me.

sure, some doctors may not be too keen on patients asking questions and making decisions, but most patients are happy about the situation.

i am the one who would end up with an artificial valve stuck inside my body, so why not let me choose which one? it is not as if choosing an on-x valve was a totally loopy decision like trying to repair my heart with colour therapy or homeopathy.

and of course doctors, surgeons etc are always correct ...?

ok, it took a small nudge to get the surgeon to let me have an on-x valve, but it is a valid option at least. the guy is no pushover, if it was plain wrong or stupid, his awnser would be NO. but as is so often the case in life, the distinction between good and better is gray and a matter of opinion, so why not let the patient choose the shade of gray?
 
Hi Westie,

May I suggest you contact the company via email and they will give you the name of their sales rep in New Zealand who in turn will be able to give names of surgeons who are experienced with the on-x valve.

I am from Adelaide South Australia and this is what I did last year before my op in august. The surgeon they told me about is the director of cardiothoracic surgery in the largest hospital in our state. He has a wealth of experience in many different valves, he told me that the on-x and the st judes valves would be equally as good as each other for ME and he would happily implant whichever one I wanted.

Good luck with this decision and be confident that the decision you make is the right one for YOU

Mary
 
Westie, You are right I am Victorian. ( I am only 81 years old so I never met her personally, but I sure heard a lot about her and her time growing up) However ,if it is Victorian to rely on your heart surgeon for valve information rather than the On-X detail man and/or vr.com, I plead guilty. I got into vr.com primarily for the anticoagulation forums. Unfortunately, we have found that one has to be very careful about relying on our physicians to manage Coumadin. I advise all patients I come in contact with to self test and self dose as soon as possible.My surgeon and my cardiologist whole-heartedly agree. When I asked my surgeon if the ON-X would do away with the necessity for Coumadin he said valve manufacturers hav e been making this claim intermittently for over 30 years but it has never panned out. He said it will take more time and more data before he will switch from St. Jude. By the way he saved me and many others from the much maligned silzone valve by not jumping on that band wagon.
 
Personally, I think there is TOO MUCH emphasis on the NO or LOW Anticoagulation Studies and not enough emphasis on the REASON those studies were considered in the first place.

That reason is the fact that the On-X valves have a Lower Propensity for Clot Formation due to lower turbulence (90 degree opening vs 75 to 85 degrees for older valves), smoother and harder Pyrolytic Carbon Leaflets that have NO silicon imbedded in them (patented I *assume*), and improved pivot design that reduces damage to blood cells, along with a built-in barrier to Pannus Tissue Growth which is a known problem for older Tissue and Mechanical Valves.

ALL of those advantages are automatically received with the Valve, REGARDLESS of the outcome of the NO / LOW AntiCoagulation studies. The NO / Low Anticoagulation benefit is a bonus when going OFF anticoagulation for invasive procedures or other reasons.

Those are MY reasons for wanting an On-X Mitral Valve when the time comes, especially since the Mitral Valve is more prone to Clot Formation than the others.

I notice that several of our members were "First Time" On-X Valve recipients for their surgeons who have gone on to recommending them to other patients. I just learned that the surgeon I consulted at UAB has implanted his first On-X (Aortic) Valve when yet another patient requested that valve.

"The Times, They are a-Changin' ".

'AL Capshaw'
 
Well put Al. I think the On-X has much to offer without even discussing the low or no warfarin possibility. I'm the type of cautious person that would need the valve to be low or no warfarin approved for 10 years before I'd hang my hat on that aspect. But as you said, the reasons for those trials are the reason I find the valve to be exciting (as far as valves can be exciting.;) ).
 
Westi - Sounds like you have gotten your question answered and more. Go with your gut and good luck to you!!!
 
i have one, no dud

i have one, no dud

dr. laks is top surgeon in country, at least by some accounts, teaches at ucla, and told me i wouldn't even need coumadin in a couple of years probably. well that hasn't happened, but the valve is great, i feel like a new guy and have no worries.:D
 
Never met Victoria, but have seen her statue ........

Never met Victoria, but have seen her statue ........

Marty said:
Westie, You are right I am Victorian. ( I am only 81 years old so I never met her personally, but I sure heard a lot about her and her time growing up) However ,if it is Victorian to rely on your heart surgeon for valve information rather than the On-X detail man and/or vr.com, I plead guilty. I got into vr.com primarily for the anticoagulation forums. Unfortunately, we have found that one has to be very careful about relying on our physicians to manage Coumadin. I advise all patients I come in contact with to self test and self dose as soon as possible.My surgeon and my cardiologist whole-heartedly agree. When I asked my surgeon if the ON-X would do away with the necessity for Coumadin he said valve manufacturers hav e been making this claim intermittently for over 30 years but it has never panned out. He said it will take more time and more data before he will switch from St. Jude. By the way he saved me and many others from the much maligned silzone valve by not jumping on that band wagon.
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Hi Marty,
Glad to learn you dodged the silzone bullet. Much maligned or not be happy you have something else, you could be a lot worse off.
 
westie said:
hi everyone

on tuesday i intend emailing the surgeon and telling him i have decided, against his advice, on the on-x valve as a standby in case my valve is not repairable. actually, he has never fitted a on-x valve before, but he is an ace, so no worries!

i am sure the on-x valve is the best, but if anyone out there has dirt on it, please, please speak now!

thanks

westie
p.s. surgerery is monday 03-03-2008
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lucky you, I went in so quickly. I asked the day before surgery and my surgeon tols me what I'm getting. I wish I could of had theOn-X also.
 
My surgeon was similar to Faye's. He (and the hospital) had never used the ON-X valve but told me it would implant the same as the others. After my surgery, He really liked the valve and has started to use it. I can say some of the advertising claims about this valve has been proven true through my follow-ups. I even had the root replacement with Dacron that my surgeon sewed himself. To make a long story shorter, I'm VERY happy with my choice and I hope this post will help you feel better about yours.
 
I had pretty similar experiences to Faye and HarleyM. I had to convince my surgeon to use On-X and it was the first one implanted by him and the first at that hospital. Still the first (and only) On-X implanted there the last I heard, which was about two months ago. I never got any feedback on his opinion of the On-X, but I never asked him for it. He did indicate that the surgery went "perfect". I am totally satisfied with On-X and would make the same choice if I was to do it over again. Good luck with your surgery, recovery, etc no matter what decision you make.
 
decided

decided

i saw the surgeon at the hospital after my angiogram yesterday and confirmed i will use the on-x valve if the repair option fails.

i was delighted to finf out that all my arteries are in excellent condition, the nurses said they were very happy about that for me and explained they do not often see such a good result

sincere thanks to everyone for the valuable feedback which has helped me make this decision.
 
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