Anyone Put Off Surgery Pros and Cons?

[nebtargh]

I can relate to you

I can relate to you

Melanie,

I am just like you. I am 42, and my mitral valve is a 4+. I exercise 4-5 times a week for 1 hour a day. I jog about 2.5-3.5 miles a day, and I have no symptoms. My doctor caught it early which was good. The way they explained it to me is take care of this before the symptoms start setting in because you might run the risk of doing irreversible heart damage. They told me once you are severe it won't get better. It never does. It will just take a little time for your body to realize that your heart is sick. My advice to you is to take care of this now. Believe me I feel perfectly fine, but I would rather deal with this now rather than later. I am actually scheduled for surgery on Nov. 14th. I hope this helps a little.

Al

 

[debster913]

Melanie,
Heed our advice: Get your valve taken care of! As many others have expressed, ignoring your valve puts you at more risk than the surgery does. With a severely leaking valve, you are more at risk of developing bacterial endocarditis, and even death. This is not to scare you, this is only to show you that a leaky valve is nothing to treat lightly.

You are fortunate that you've not had symptoms of your failing valve, but I'll tell you, once you've had the surgery, you'll realize how bad you felt before the operation. There are many here who were non-symptomatic prior to their surgeries and would say afterward, "Wow, I really didn't feel that well!"

For me, there was no question that surgery was the best way to go. Of course, I had a severely leaking mitral valve, dyspnea, fatigue, the works. I had to take a medical leave before my surgery because my cardiologist was fearful that I'd have a heart attack and die at work. I was 30 years old (four months ago) when my valve was repaired, and it's been a very successful valve repair. My cardio says I can look forward to a "bright future" now that I've had my valve fixed. He didn't want me to go through a repair/replacement because of my age, but realized upon seeing how ill I was that he did not want to prolong the leak and put me at risk of permanent heart damage. That WILL happen if you don't have the surgery! My great-aunt has congestive heart failure and will eventually pass away because she refuses to have her mitral valve fixed or replaced. That is her choice, but it is no doubt a fatal one.

Your chances of dying/having complications from valve surgery are slim. But so are your chances of dropping dead tomorrow. Life is not without its risks. The only risk, as the proverbial saying goes, is not taking one. Don't let this go. As many will echo: Surgery gave me my life back. I am better than I've ever been in my 31 years because of my valve repair. And like my cardiologist, the awesome Dr. V said, I have a bright future ahead. You can, too.

Regards,
Debi (debster913)

 

[Melanie Gaines]

Thank you Everyone for Your Support Re Pros and Cons of Waiting for Surgery!!!

Thank you Everyone for Your Support Re Pros and Cons of Waiting for Surgery!!!

Hi Everyone:
I'm overwhelmed by the support. It seems that everyone is on the side of proceeding forward. I probably will do so. It doesn't help that my father died undergoing a double bypass one year ago, but he was much older and had sustained a lot of heart damage prior, I guess. His was also an emergency procedure.

If the doctor cannot fix the valve I am leaning toward tissue replacement. We had a close family friend who went through TWO mechanical valves before they finally gave him a pig valve, but that was back in 1976, so the mechanical valves may be better now. This man had all kinds of difficulties with Coumadine, so that scares me too.

Also, my EF is very good at 70%, but the doctor says that I will feel alot better after surgery so I don't know.

Once again, I greatly appreciate the support.

Thanks, everyone,
Melanie

 

[Ross]

Melanie, the biggest draw back to Coumadin is the people that manage it. If you decided to go mechanical and take the drug, learn how to manage your own dosing. Too many in the medical field have not a clue how the drug works. We see all kinds of stupid things being done and said day in and day out here. as part of your education, check out www.warfarinfo.com and dispell some of the myths you've most certainly heard.