Aortic Valve Repair

[carly011]

Anyone else getting an aortic valve repair???

I am 19 years old(i have Aortic stenosis, aortic regurgitation, a bicuspid aortic valve and enlargement of my aorta(both ascending and root)

My surgeon is going to attempt a repair of my valve, if that doesnt work they will replace it(with either a bioprosthetic or cadaver).

Anyone have experience with a REPAIR? i cant find a lot of information, its all about replacements!

My surgery is scheduled for July 9th

 

[Garserin]

Hi carly, I had my severely leaking aortic valve repaired 13 months ago along with a graft replacement of my aortic root and ascending aorta. Just had my one year check-up and everything is fine even though I still have mild regurgitation. According to the doctor that is not unusual. I guess at this time it's too early to tell how my repair will hold up over time, but from what I've read most repairs are a success. Will you have your root and aorta replaced also?

 

[Lily]

I recall at least one member having a repair [to their bicuspid aortic valve] nearly five years ago.

 

[TheGymGuy]

Talk to HiMyNameIsDale and/or search for posts by him. I do not know much about repairs, but we have a member for whom it did not work. He had a repair which failed within a day or so, and they needed to do a re-op. Even though valve selection is a very individual decision, if you get a cadaver or bio-prosthetic at this young age they might not last long. Probably on the order of 8-10 years, just food for thought.

 

[Lynlw]

Talk to HiMyNameIsDale and/or search for posts by him. I do not know much about repairs, but we have a member for whom it did not work. He had a repair which failed within a day or so, and they needed to do a re-op. Even though valve selection is a very individual decision, if you get a cadaver or bio-prosthetic at this young age they might not last long. Probably on the order of 8-10 years, just food for thought.

That is true tissue valves usually dont last as long in someone so young, BUT for young women who plan or at least hope to have children, almost every doc would reccomend getting a tissue valve. Altho it IS possible, having a mech valve and being on Coumadin can make it much more dangerous (everything from life threatning complications to severe birth defects usually facial) for both the mom and baby so it is usually not reccomended to get a mech valve during the childbearing years.

 

[OldManEmu]

Carly
Below is a link explaining valve sparing surgery. The Aortic valve is often repaired before reimplantation.
http://www.ctsnet.org/sections/clinicalresources/adultcardiac/expert_tech-18.html

 

[carly011]

Thanks everyone!! at this point, i do not think my surgeon is doing any work on my aorta(though i am not 100% sure why they arent doing it well already in there??).

I did NOT want the mechanical valve because of the blood thinner issues, to me its not worth the risk for my future children. I can handle having to be reoperated on eventually, but not being able to have kids or risking my childs health is something i can not handle!

Everything i have seen on the internet has said valve repairs are not common and that they can't be done in cases of stenosis and calcification. My valve is severely stenosed AND has a lot of calcification. So i am not sure why my surgeon thinks i have a good chance of success with a repair, but i will trust him!

 

[Roberta]

Hi Carly,

I just noticed that JohnnyCake 23 had in his signature an aortic valve repair to alleviate regurgitation. I too was under the impression that repair was not feasible for stenosis with calcification;however I am not a cardiac surgeon:biggrin2:.

All the best to you!

 

[Hayley]

I'm 18 and my surgeon was also thinking about repairing my mitral valve. It's not something that needs to be fixed ASAP, but since they're fixing my aorta they wanted to fix the valve too. I asked him what the chances were of it becoming leaky again. He said that there's a small chance, but if it does become leaky again it won't be any more leaky than it already is. Next time I see him, I'm going to ask more about the repair of the valve.

 

[carly011]

I'm 18 and my surgeon was also thinking about repairing my mitral valve. It's not something that needs to be fixed ASAP, but since they're fixing my aorta they wanted to fix the valve too. I asked him what the chances were of it becoming leaky again. He said that there's a small chance, but if it does become leaky again it won't be any more leaky than it already is. Next time I see him, I'm going to ask more about the repair of the valve.

Ahhhh ok, see thats why i dont understand, they were already in my chest fixing my valve, not sure why they arent doing my aorta also!!!

I just emailed my surgeon with my questions.

If you are interested you can add me as a friend on facebook, i would love to talk to someone my age who is going through this! https://www.facebook.com/carly.smith.7906

 

[Hayley]

Yeah, that makes no sense! Maybe there's a risk or something holding them back. No idea.
Sure, I'll add you on Facebook.

 

[Mom2izzy]

I had a mitral valve repair where they removed a relatively large hunk of calcification. I don't know if there is a difference due to the valve type.

 

[Bryan B]

Carly,

I had a Ross Procedure in 2004 but my surgeon tried repairing my valve first. He actually repaired it and took me off of the bypass to test it. He decided to go ahead with the Ross because he wasn't sure it would be a permanent fix and he knew that was what I was hoping for. We hadn't discussed a repair, so I think unless he was positive it was going to hold up for a long time he was going to move forward with the RP. But my situation was different. I had endocarditis and he was trying to repair perforations in my valve leaflets that the endocarditis had caused. IMO aortic valve repair has come a long way in the last decade, and at your age it is definitely worth a shot. A tissue or homograft simply doesn't last very long in young people (although if you are planning on having children it's the way to go).