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Funny how much it varies depending on which surgeon you talk to. Duke University Medical Center is one of the major hospitals where clinical trials have been ongoing. Duke is where I had both of my surgeries and my surgeon is actively involved in the clinical trials. He said while there were no...

I wore the hospital gown with a pair of pajama bottoms to cover my bottom. The pajama bottoms had snaps at the waist so I could run the foley cath tubing through the "fly". Besides the foley cath everything else "attached" to me was above the waist and the gown was much easier to deal with. I do...

Matt, I had my aortic valve, aortic root, and ascending aorta replaced a little over a year ago. My surgeon also placed lifting restrictions on me, and when I asked what the limit was he said approximately one-half of my body weight. I would get in touch with your surgeon and ask for a more...

Any of the members that were here when I first joined can probably vouch for this...I spent most of my time on this forum freaking out, whining and complaining lol. :biggrin2: In retrospect I wasted a lot of energy doing that for nothing. My second time around I played a lot of golf, went out...

Great news Tony and you sound great. I know I have a tissue valve but the summer before my surgery I was on Coumadin for 3 months because I had A-Flutter and they found a clot in my heart. Anyway, I have a very thick beard and hadn't gotten good results with a variety of electric shavers in the...

Hi Vegas, My situation was similar to yours. I had a VSD causing one of my aortic leaflets to prolapse, which in turn caused moderate regurgitation. Even though I knew I would probably need my valve replaced in the future my condition was "stable" so I was just followed annually. Then I got...

Lyn, Notice I only said that On-X is "hoping" to hit a home run with the the low-risk study more than with the high-risk study. That doesn't mean they won't strike out instead. Also I should have prefaced my statement with "IMO" as that is all it is. I do agree that Plavix has it's own set of...

I think that where On-X is really hoping to "hit a home run" is in the low-risk study where patients are being maintained with aspirin and clopidogrel only. If they can show only a minor increase in thrombotic events with a major reduction in bleeding events they might have something. In the...

scg, I just wanted to wish you well on Monday from a fellow Triangle resident and someone who has had 2 heart surgeries at Duke. They will take good care of you. Just out of curiosity who is your surgeon?

Hi Jo, First of all when you say you are not impressed with the 1 in 50 statistic that comes out to 2% chance of not surviving. I have heard that 50 out of 50 people die if they don't get their diseased valve fixed (that comes out to 100%). See where I am going with this? Also remember that the...

Jo, The likelihood of sudden death for you is quite low if not zero. Think about it...if your cardiologist thought you were at risk for sudden death do you think he/she would tell you that you need surgery in 6-12 months and not say ASAP? Most people who die suddenly (I know the thread you are...

Keith, Good luck on Monday, will be thinking about you!

Hi Pat, It seems that being bumped is not all that uncommon, and usually the better the hospital is and the better the surgeon is the more likely it will happen. I also just read your history and it looks like you got 20 years out of your last valve. That is great! Good luck on Thursday!

Tony, I have a tissue valve so I can't give you any advice from direct experience. But I have been a member of this forum for over 8 years so I can share what I have heard from others. Most people with mechanical valves are just as active (if not more so) then they were before their surgery...

I was born with a VSD and I was slow to gain weight as a child. I am 5'9" and before my surgeries I weighed about 150lbs. I probably gained about 10lbs after my first surgery and I have probably put on another 5-10lbs after my 2nd surgery. I was very active between my first and second surgery so...

After my first surgery I had sternum complications and was in constant pain for 6 months. They removed my wires and the pain vanished. After this surgery I still have aches and pains after a year, mostly with my sternum (again) but more a nuisance this time. I agree with Ken about it feeling...

Glad everything went well Gail and you are back in rhythm.

Gribur, I just posted on your thread at the Heart Talk forum. In your case SUDDEN DEATH could occur if your stenotic valve completely closed up or if your ascending aorta dissected (ruptured). Based on the information you gave it sounds like neither of these scenarios are likely to happen in...

Gribur, It sounds like in my non-expert opinion you have reached the point where it's time for at least a surgical consult. Your stenosis has reached the critical stage and I am assuming they label it "critical" for a reason. Your left ventricle is dilating due to your heart working overtime to...

Hi famoussenior, I have played golf for close to 40 years (a few of those years professionally) and I have had 2 surgeries worth of experience. Everyone heals at different rates but the "average" time for the sternum to completely heal is around 12 weeks. I started chipping and putting at about...