Before I put this to bed until my next check up, I wonder if I could prevail upon you kind and learned souls to offer some insight into a couple of things that have been bothering me. I have searched through the archives, but haven't been able to exactly answer my queries.
A lot of people seek out 2nd opinions. My (prospective) surgeon is approachable, empathetic, likeable and statistically appears to be one of the best in London. I'm pretty ok with him - is it remiss of me not to seek out the advice of somebody else? My CT scans were performed by my cardiologist - I have just had a brief meeting with the surgeon. Does everybody hunt around?
I have just received the letter from my cardiologist which confirms that my aortic root has grown from 4.6cm - 4.7cm between CT scans (ie two years apart). The yearly echoes showed a constant size of 4.5cm. I realise that I am edging ever closer to the point where surgery is called for - does that increase sound alarming? Does it make a difference if it is the root or elsewhere? My surgeon asked me what I wanted to do. I asked for his advice which was to wait another year which I was happy to accept. Subsequent reflection makes me wonder if I should just bite on the bullet and get it over with - the odds for the surgery are never going to change, and if I have to have it anyway.....
OTOH - timing isn't great; I have a holiday to India in a couple of weeks, then Xmas coming up. I suppose I'm looking for some reassurance that sitting it out for a year with a 4.7cm aortic root isn't a ridiculously reckless idea.
Thanks again for any advice offered.
A lot of people seek out 2nd opinions. My (prospective) surgeon is approachable, empathetic, likeable and statistically appears to be one of the best in London. I'm pretty ok with him - is it remiss of me not to seek out the advice of somebody else? My CT scans were performed by my cardiologist - I have just had a brief meeting with the surgeon. Does everybody hunt around?
I have just received the letter from my cardiologist which confirms that my aortic root has grown from 4.6cm - 4.7cm between CT scans (ie two years apart). The yearly echoes showed a constant size of 4.5cm. I realise that I am edging ever closer to the point where surgery is called for - does that increase sound alarming? Does it make a difference if it is the root or elsewhere? My surgeon asked me what I wanted to do. I asked for his advice which was to wait another year which I was happy to accept. Subsequent reflection makes me wonder if I should just bite on the bullet and get it over with - the odds for the surgery are never going to change, and if I have to have it anyway.....
OTOH - timing isn't great; I have a holiday to India in a couple of weeks, then Xmas coming up. I suppose I'm looking for some reassurance that sitting it out for a year with a 4.7cm aortic root isn't a ridiculously reckless idea.
Thanks again for any advice offered.