11 years with tissue valve. Anyone longer?

[neil]

yea the moooos and honks seem to be doing well,

 

[Tojomiami]

I received an aortic homograft valve replacement 17.5 years ago at age 45, but now I have severe regurgitation and am going to have my second OHS soon. It was great the first 14 years or so, but I have had slowly progressive loss of exercise tolerance over the past few years. I climbed Mount Rainier 4 times with the homograft, but now become short of breath climbing a flight of stairs. I am opting for a mechanical valve this second time around to hopefully avoid a third OHS in the future. I also want to avoid this pre-replacement loss of energy for several years ago before another replacement.

 

[dick0236]

Welcome Tojomiami. It's good to have your experience in this group. I agree that a third surgery at around 80 could be problematic and not something to look forward to.

 

[Nocturne]

Arnold Schwarzenegger had a bioprosthetic valve put in back in 1997 -- does he still have the same one?

Apparently he does. He had a homograft and it is still going twenty years later.

 

[epstns]

Apparently he does. He had a homograft and it is still going twenty years later.

I wonder if this one is a heavy duty model. IIRC, he went back to heavy lifting too soon after his surgery and damaged the original replacement. He had a second replacement shortly thereafter, and that would be the one he now has. He must have learned his lesson well.