Tuff guy

[ken taylor]

Strange, may be not, you be the judge. It is not like me to share this kind of stuff but I got out of bed this morning at four in the morning, having my coffee and I just started crying. Why? Ive been through OHS before six years ago for by pass No proublem. In fact after being released from the hospital, I was driving my car at two weeks, building a house in central america at two months and did not even see a doctor one time after surgery for two years. Not smart. Anyway It is possible that it is from uncertainty. I have been told by the cardiologist that they will not know if I have BAV until im in surgery and when I ask will the surgery be for my valve replacement only or will I need root work,assending aortic work are just what. The cardiologist told me that it is all up to the surgeon, I have a pre surgery appt. on Wed. the 25th with surgery the following day the 26th . Six days from now. Im not scared about valve replacement, It is the plumbing work that has me concerned. My aortic valvasa is3.7 and my assendind artery last Eco was 4.4 I thougt I did not have symptoms two months ago but now I get Tired easy and need a nap. I guess I just want you to know that even tuff guys can be brought to there knees facing this. Question is for you valve pros , what do you think they will do. And if I get all new plumbing does that change life exspectaincy?.

 

[ALCapshaw2]

It's Never Easy is it?

From what I read here, the risks involved with 'Aorta Surgery' are not much greater that 'mere' Valve Replacement, as long as you use a Surgeon with considerable experience doing Aorta Surgery.

I have NO idea what the surgeon might do. That is a Good Question to ask the Surgeon when you see him.

My GUESS about life expectancy, is that if you need Aorta Surgery, your life expectancy with the surgery will be GREATER than if you do NOT have Aorta Surgery. As for your life expectancy after Aorta Surgery vs. what you might expect if you never had this problem is another good question for your Surgeon. I'm thinking that there is little difference, but don't have the data to make a fully informed assessment.

'AL Capshaw'

 

[ken taylor]

AL I do know what life expectancy would be with out surgery ,my guess 1 to 2 years. Just hopeing for the best . Al thank you for all your support!1

 

[dick0236]

My GUESS about life expectancy, is that if you need Aorta Surgery, your life expectancy with the surgery will be GREATER than if you do NOT have Aorta Surgery. As for your life expectancy after Aorta Surgery vs. what you might expect if you never had this problem is another good question for your Surgeon. I'm thinking that there is little difference, but don't have the data to make a fully informed assessment.

Al's post sums it up. I played the "life expectancy" game for a long time. When I was diagnosed at age 30, the docs told me I would not live to 40 without corrective surgery. Unfortunately, I began to set my own life expectancy and first thought I would not live to 50 even with the surgery. I passed 50 and reset my time to 60....I passed that and reset to 70.....I passed that and now I have no idea. I'm still healthy, active and I've learned to "live one day at a time". I know it is easy for me to offer this advice since I have the benefit of hindsite, but you can waste a lot of good, valuable "living time" if you get mired down with the "what if" questions....I know, because I did that for a very long time.....thank God for support groups like VR.org. I wish this forum had been around in my early days....would have answered a lot of questions and concerns that scared me to death.

 

[bdryer]

Hi Ken

Hey bud, welcome to being human! About a week after I to got the news that my aortic valve was reduced to .6cm2 due to aortic stenosis and my ascending aorta had an aneurism of 4.6 cm, I broke down crying. You have to have a pity party before you go forward. Fortunately I was able to call a friend who lost a sister after 7 OHS. She was obviously experienced living the reality of OHS. I also got on board VR.ORG and was surrounded by support. Do not be shy to admit your human. I'm certain 99.9% of OHS patients cry. It's just natural and a required release! Any time Panama turns you blue, log in here and seek comfort. Your not alone.

Alrighty, now that we got that out of the way, lets move forward. Your cardiologist I'm certain will refer you to a surgeon who works part time as a plumber who will fix your aneurism! At 60 you should be a great candidate for a biological valve if required. Make like car shopping and snoop around the manufactures web sites. Pick yourself out something cool and sleek to be implanted. It's very interesting once you start nosing around. If you need an AV and root replacement, I would certainly check out the On-X Ascending Aortic Prosthesis (AAP) with the Vascutek Gelweave Valsalva Graft. St Judes AV also comes with an attached graft. Have fun with it.

Ken, your not alone and you know it, thats why your here and we are here for you!