prasbuttons
New member
Hi all
First off, I have been lurking in this forum for the last couple of months to get more details on bicuspid valves. My Younger Brother was diagnosed with a bicuspid valve with severe regurgitation and dilated left ventricle (7.3cm) in January 2016 and was asked to have the valve repaired or replaced as soon as possible. Initially, we were planning to do the surgery in IU Methodist(Indiana) on Feb 16th. The Surgeoon indicated that he would try to repair the valve and if thats not successful, he would replace it with a mechanical valve. Fortunately, we were introduced to a cardiologist in Emory University through a common friend and he was a godsend for us. He researched on the best hospitals and recommended that we reach out to Dr.Jyothi Puthumana (Program Chair, Bicuspid Aortic Valve center of Excellence) at Northwestern Memorial .
We met him and he referred us to Dr.Chris Malaisrie and we scheduled an appointment with him a couple of days (March 7th) after our meeting with Dr.Jyothi. Dr.Chris was very optimistic about repair and he was planning to repair the valve and if that isnt possible, he was planning to remove the diseased valve and replace it with Cardiocel patch. It did sound like he was planning to replace the entire leaflet using the Cardiocel scaffold. He had an opening later that week (March 11th) and we agreed to have the surgery.
On the Surgery day, things went a little out of plan as his first surgery was a little delayed and we ended up sitting in pre op for a couple of hours. They took him in at 12:45 PM and by 4:15. they were done with the repair and had taken him off the heart lung machine to test the effectiveness of the repair. Dr.Chris came out and told me that the leaflets were symmetric and there was a tear on one of the leaflet. He ended up suturing it and he reduced the size of the other leaflet a little to make it better and reduced the size of the annulus. He did not have to use the Cardiocel patch at all.
Post Surgery
By Friday 8:00 PM, the breathing tube was taken out and he started drinking liquids by midnight. By Saturday Morning, he was ready to have his first solid (Jello) and they moved him down to the step down ward by Saturday Noon. However, Narco did not help him much and he was in sever pain for the rest of Saturday until Sunday morning. It was difficult for him to gauge his pain level and he kept saying he was at 4 on a 10 scale. He later told me that he was comparing the pain to the pain he experienced when the breathing tube was taken out. Hence until Sunday morning, it wasn't easy. Sunday Morning nurse practitioner stopped by and she took him off morphine and put him on tyrodol(I think thats the name) to address the pericardial inflammation and he felt better immediately. He had walked a bit Saturday but by Sunday Evening, he did not have any issues walking a round or two around the corridors.
By Monday morning, the chest tubes were taken off and the physical therapist gave him a green light for discharge. The surgeon took his echo and it looked good and we were sent home by Monday Afternoon.
Overall, I think this probably could not have gone better. We will have to see how long the repair lasts, but we feel confident that we went to one of the best surgeons for this type of surgery. We are forever grateful to the NW Team. They did a tremendous job and the friendliness of the nurse team made our lives so much easier.
This forum is of great help because I have a better understanding of the post surgery recovery and that makes me a better caretaker. Thanks a lot for your contributions.
First off, I have been lurking in this forum for the last couple of months to get more details on bicuspid valves. My Younger Brother was diagnosed with a bicuspid valve with severe regurgitation and dilated left ventricle (7.3cm) in January 2016 and was asked to have the valve repaired or replaced as soon as possible. Initially, we were planning to do the surgery in IU Methodist(Indiana) on Feb 16th. The Surgeoon indicated that he would try to repair the valve and if thats not successful, he would replace it with a mechanical valve. Fortunately, we were introduced to a cardiologist in Emory University through a common friend and he was a godsend for us. He researched on the best hospitals and recommended that we reach out to Dr.Jyothi Puthumana (Program Chair, Bicuspid Aortic Valve center of Excellence) at Northwestern Memorial .
We met him and he referred us to Dr.Chris Malaisrie and we scheduled an appointment with him a couple of days (March 7th) after our meeting with Dr.Jyothi. Dr.Chris was very optimistic about repair and he was planning to repair the valve and if that isnt possible, he was planning to remove the diseased valve and replace it with Cardiocel patch. It did sound like he was planning to replace the entire leaflet using the Cardiocel scaffold. He had an opening later that week (March 11th) and we agreed to have the surgery.
On the Surgery day, things went a little out of plan as his first surgery was a little delayed and we ended up sitting in pre op for a couple of hours. They took him in at 12:45 PM and by 4:15. they were done with the repair and had taken him off the heart lung machine to test the effectiveness of the repair. Dr.Chris came out and told me that the leaflets were symmetric and there was a tear on one of the leaflet. He ended up suturing it and he reduced the size of the other leaflet a little to make it better and reduced the size of the annulus. He did not have to use the Cardiocel patch at all.
Post Surgery
By Friday 8:00 PM, the breathing tube was taken out and he started drinking liquids by midnight. By Saturday Morning, he was ready to have his first solid (Jello) and they moved him down to the step down ward by Saturday Noon. However, Narco did not help him much and he was in sever pain for the rest of Saturday until Sunday morning. It was difficult for him to gauge his pain level and he kept saying he was at 4 on a 10 scale. He later told me that he was comparing the pain to the pain he experienced when the breathing tube was taken out. Hence until Sunday morning, it wasn't easy. Sunday Morning nurse practitioner stopped by and she took him off morphine and put him on tyrodol(I think thats the name) to address the pericardial inflammation and he felt better immediately. He had walked a bit Saturday but by Sunday Evening, he did not have any issues walking a round or two around the corridors.
By Monday morning, the chest tubes were taken off and the physical therapist gave him a green light for discharge. The surgeon took his echo and it looked good and we were sent home by Monday Afternoon.
Overall, I think this probably could not have gone better. We will have to see how long the repair lasts, but we feel confident that we went to one of the best surgeons for this type of surgery. We are forever grateful to the NW Team. They did a tremendous job and the friendliness of the nurse team made our lives so much easier.
This forum is of great help because I have a better understanding of the post surgery recovery and that makes me a better caretaker. Thanks a lot for your contributions.
