Franklin
Member
Hello,
Although this is my first post, I've been reading these forums since I was diagnosed with a BAV in October '10 and wanted to give a big THANK YOU!! to all the posters and moderators - these forums have been a great source of information and comfort during this difficult time; it's so valuable to have an active and knowledgeable community like this one. Reading studies, talking to doctors and nurses, and reading the literature the hospital provides is good, but it so often doesn't provide the specifics about what you'll feel like emotionally before the surgery and during recovery that you find here, and it's really helpful to read about all the success stories. So again, thank you!
Anyway, I've got my aortic valve replacement and conduit scheduled for January 6, 2011 at New York Presbyterian-Weill Cornell with Dr Leonard Girardi. He's got a great resume and has evidently performed over 6,700 valve replacements, and my family and I felt extremely comfortable with him and the team...I guess the most important part is yet to come though, and I'll let everyone know how the surgery goes, but so far we've been very happy with him.
When I was looking for information right after I was told I needed surgery, I found it informative to read the background of other patients and their stories...so I guess I'll give a brief bio on myself in the hope that others might be able to relate and find some comfort:
I'm an otherwise-healthy 30yr old male that had never been told of any heart problems (no murmurs, normal blood pressure, etc.) and had no symptoms of heart problems, and no family history of heart problems. I exercised regularly and haven't ever felt bad. I went into the doctor in October '10 for a random cold, and he told me that the cold was just a virus, but that my blood pressure was very high and to come back next week for a full physical. I came back the next week, and he confirmed that he had heard a heart murmur, and sent me to Weill Cornell on the Upper East Side for an echocardiogram. The echo showed regurgitation (moderate/severe) and indicated a bicuspid aortic valve. My physician referred me to a cardiologist who sent me for a CT scan, which enabled him to conclusively diagnose the BAV. The CT scan revealed an enlarged left ventricle and an aneurysm in my ascending aorta.
The cardiologist then referred me to Dr Girardi who indicated that I should have the valve replaced and a Dacron conduit inserted sometime over the next 6 months to a year. I decided to go ahead and get it done sooner rather than later to minimize the loss of sleep I'd suffer from worrying about the operation! So here I am.
As much as the surgery scares me, I feel fortunate to have caught the problem while something can still be done about it, fortunate to have been referred to excellent doctors and facilities, and I'm most thankful to have my wonderful wife and family with me. (I'm pretty sure that my wife is having a harder time than I am with it, but she's a trouper and is putting on a brave face.)
I'll post a post-surgery update as soon as I'm able. Thanks again everyone.
- Franklin
Although this is my first post, I've been reading these forums since I was diagnosed with a BAV in October '10 and wanted to give a big THANK YOU!! to all the posters and moderators - these forums have been a great source of information and comfort during this difficult time; it's so valuable to have an active and knowledgeable community like this one. Reading studies, talking to doctors and nurses, and reading the literature the hospital provides is good, but it so often doesn't provide the specifics about what you'll feel like emotionally before the surgery and during recovery that you find here, and it's really helpful to read about all the success stories. So again, thank you!
Anyway, I've got my aortic valve replacement and conduit scheduled for January 6, 2011 at New York Presbyterian-Weill Cornell with Dr Leonard Girardi. He's got a great resume and has evidently performed over 6,700 valve replacements, and my family and I felt extremely comfortable with him and the team...I guess the most important part is yet to come though, and I'll let everyone know how the surgery goes, but so far we've been very happy with him.
When I was looking for information right after I was told I needed surgery, I found it informative to read the background of other patients and their stories...so I guess I'll give a brief bio on myself in the hope that others might be able to relate and find some comfort:
I'm an otherwise-healthy 30yr old male that had never been told of any heart problems (no murmurs, normal blood pressure, etc.) and had no symptoms of heart problems, and no family history of heart problems. I exercised regularly and haven't ever felt bad. I went into the doctor in October '10 for a random cold, and he told me that the cold was just a virus, but that my blood pressure was very high and to come back next week for a full physical. I came back the next week, and he confirmed that he had heard a heart murmur, and sent me to Weill Cornell on the Upper East Side for an echocardiogram. The echo showed regurgitation (moderate/severe) and indicated a bicuspid aortic valve. My physician referred me to a cardiologist who sent me for a CT scan, which enabled him to conclusively diagnose the BAV. The CT scan revealed an enlarged left ventricle and an aneurysm in my ascending aorta.
The cardiologist then referred me to Dr Girardi who indicated that I should have the valve replaced and a Dacron conduit inserted sometime over the next 6 months to a year. I decided to go ahead and get it done sooner rather than later to minimize the loss of sleep I'd suffer from worrying about the operation! So here I am.
As much as the surgery scares me, I feel fortunate to have caught the problem while something can still be done about it, fortunate to have been referred to excellent doctors and facilities, and I'm most thankful to have my wonderful wife and family with me. (I'm pretty sure that my wife is having a harder time than I am with it, but she's a trouper and is putting on a brave face.)
I'll post a post-surgery update as soon as I'm able. Thanks again everyone.
- Franklin
