Do I Really Need Surgery

[OldManEmu]

From what you describe I would agree with what has already been said, surgery is in your not to distant future. I am especially concerned about your breathlessness lying down. This is often one of the first symptoms of heart failure. Without treatment I wouldn't be too confident of you making your 40th birthday. Once symptoms start if left untreated survival on average is <2 years.

 

[EVELYN]

Hi Arc_Weld

I have been thinking about you since I read and replied to your question. Please, Please, Please go and get this taken care of ASAP.....it is definitely NOT something to be taken lightly, especially with your symptoms. The longer you let it go, the more of a chance of long-term problems resulting from the enlargement of the heart.

My husband, Tyce, had his St. Jude's mechanical put in 3 years ago at age 59. His cardio, too, said to wait till it was time and monitored him yearly with echos. It was only when he went into afib that he said it was time.....and Tyce was done about 3 weeks later. His heart had returned back to normal size very quickly....matter of fact, when we had an echo done a week after he was out of the hospital, our cardio said it had already returned to normal.

Please don't delay.....get it done.

We are RV'ers too.....have had 2 fifth wheels, but now have a Monaco motor home.....love it!!!

Maybe we should start an RV chapter on this forum????? I know Granbonny also has one.

Please have it done!!

Evelyn

 

[terryj]

My husband had no symptons except his blood pressure suddenly started to go up. PCP listened to heart,heard murmur,did EKG and then sent him to cardio who did echo and then sent him to surgeon. Diagnosis was bicuspid aortic valve. His heart was enlarged. They did surgery on 9/11/01. He got the ATS mechanical valve. He was 51 at the time. He still hunts,fishes,does carpentary work around our house,uses a chainsaw to cut wood,etc. Six months after surgery his heart enlargement was reversing.

 

[tobagotwo]

If you're looking at mechanical valves, I would seriously consider looking at the On-X, the Sorin, and the ATS mentioned above as well. The St. Jude is a standard, but these other valves claim to be somewhat updated from what the St. Jude offers, in terms of causes of blood clots. The On-X is actually undergoing trials for possible use with aspirin, in place of coumadin (not a sure thing, so you shouldn't count on it).

St. Jude: http://www.sjm.com/devices/device.aspx?name=SJM+Regent&#174;+Valve&location=us&type=18

ATS: http://www.atsmedical.com/Content/iropvalve.php

On-X: http://www.onxvalves.com/ValveInformation.asp

Sorin: http://www.sorin-cid.com/bicarbon.asp

Any of these valves would be an excellent choice.

Best wishes,

 

[Granbonny]

Hi Arc-Weld

Hi Arc-Weld

Welcome to our great site.....I am from Selma..90 year old daddy still lives there..and I know how brutal the summer's are there. HOT and HUMID..... Many great members here have given you advice..still waiting for Danny..gadgetman..to chime in..He's from Columbus . Ga. and had his surgery at UAB....Go ahead and e-mail/pmhim.. Go to members at top of this forum..click on G's..you will find him..listed under gadgetman.....He can help with questions about UAB....Like Evelyn said%%, we, too, love our Motorhome....Just have it parked now..waiting for gas prices to go down. and Rita leaving, ect..Bonnie

 

[Gemma]

If you're looking at mechanical valves, I would seriously consider looking at the On-X, the Sorin, and the ATS mentioned above as well. The St. Jude is a standard, but these other valves claim to be somewhat updated from what the St. Jude offers, in terms of causes of blood clots. The On-X is actually undergoing trials for possible use with aspirin, in place of coumadin (not a sure thing, so you shouldn't count on it).

St. Jude: http://www.sjm.com/devices/device.aspx?name=SJM+Regent&#174;+Valve&location=us&type=18

ATS: http://www.atsmedical.com/Content/iropvalve.php

On-X: http://www.onxvalves.com/ValveInformation.asp

Sorin: http://www.sorin-cid.com/bicarbon.asp

Any of these valves would be an excellent choice.

Best wishes,

As far as I know, you can't get the Sorin valve in the USA. But either of the other two would be a great choice.
Arc Weld, I think if you re-read your opening post you'll know the answer for yourself - it's time.
Best wishes,
Gemma.

 

[tobagotwo]

I'm sorry - you're right Gemma. Partly.

The Sorin line is handled in the United States by Carbomedics: http://www.carbomedics.com/professional_products_top.asp?from=us

Best wishes,

 

[RCB]

What part or Parts?

What part or Parts?

I'm sorry - you're right Gemma. Partly.

The Sorin line is handled in the United States by Carbomedics: http://www.carbomedics.com/professional_products_top.asp?from=us

Best wishes,

Bob,
Are you saying that CarboMedics is making Sorin's valve line available
in the US?

 

[Gemma]

RCB - As I understand it, the Sorin group owns Sorin (marketed in Europe, and various other parts of the world), and Carbomedics (which those of you in the USA will be familiar with), along with some other companies. But the Carbomedics and Sorin valves aren't exactly the same - for a start, Sorin's Bicarbon valves have curved leaflets whereas the Carbomedics ones are flat.

Arc-Weld - sorry to veer off topic. We'll try and get back to your original question now .
Gemma.

 

[Ross]

RCB - As I understand it, the Sorin group owns Sorin (marketed in Europe, and various other parts of the world), and Carbomedics (which those of you in the USA will be familiar with), along with some other companies. But the Carbomedics and Sorin valves aren't exactly the same - for a start, Sorin's Bicarbon valves have curved leaflets whereas the Carbomedics ones are flat.

Arc-Weld - sorry to veer off topic. We'll try and get back to your original question now .
Gemma.

I think your right. As I understand it, they are somewhat merged together as a corporation, but still using their unique valve systems under their specific names.

 

[RCB]

RCB - As I understand it, the Sorin group owns Sorin (marketed in Europe, and various other parts of the world), and Carbomedics (which those of you in the USA will be familiar with), along with some other companies. But the Carbomedics and Sorin valves aren't exactly the same - for a start, Sorin's Bicarbon valves have curved leaflets whereas the Carbomedics ones are flat.

Arc-Weld - sorry to veer off topic. We'll try and get back to your original question now .
Gemma.

That has also been my undrstanding. Both companies have separate valve
lines, Sorin is the parent company through a previous purchase. I got the impression from Bob's post that CarboMedics was distributing("handling")
Sorin valves in the US. Seems to me we discussed this in a thread over a year.
ago.

 

[Arc_Weld]

Wow... Y'all are great

Wow... Y'all are great

My name is Michael.
I love to tinker in my spare time.
I worked as a mechanic as I was attending college

I love to weld in my spare time.. thus Arc_Weld.
Its kind of a unique name.. I use it on Ebay too.

Anyhow.
Thanks for the great links on valves.
It obvious that I have some studying to do.
I didn?t realize that there were so many options for valves.

I have an appointment at UAB in the next few days with Dr. McGiffin.

 

[Gemma]

I think your right.

It does happen once in a blue moon .

 

[Gemma]

My name is Michael.
I love to tinker in my spare time.
I worked as a mechanic as I was attending college

I love to weld in my spare time.. thus Arc_Weld.
Its kind of a unique name.. I use it on Ebay too.

Anyhow.
Thanks for the great links on valves.
It obvious that I have some studying to do.
I didn?t realize that there were so many options for valves.

I have an appointment at UAB in the next few days with Dr. McGiffin.

Hey Michael, you sound kind of like my boyfriend Jim - although, I'd have to say he has the odd bit of spare time from his tinkering, rather than tinkering in his spare time . Do you weld sculptures and stuff? Always thought that seemed a cool thing to do.

As for the valves - the links Bob listed are to a few of the mechanical ones available. When you throw in the various types of tissues out there too, you get probably into the hundreds . The good part is, your surgeon will probably have a couple of favourites, and give you options to choose from, rather than you needing to decide which you think is best from ALL the ones out there! Then once you know what he prefers, you can come back here and mull it over with us .

Gemma.

 

[CCRN]

Hello!

Hello!

Michael

I am a nurse and work every day in open heart surgery. I have also had my aortic valve and ascending aorta replaced.

Please believe me, you need surgery. The surgery might not just save your life, but preserve your quality of life as well. You will probably find it improves your life more than you can ever imagine. However, you should know that if you don't get over that Egyptian disease (De-nile) and wait too late it might just render you disabled for the rest of your life.....or cause you not to have life at all.

Don't really want to be the grim reaper here but I thought you needed to see the bare written facts. I know the nightmare you face but it has been faced many times and most are much better because of it.

 

[tobagotwo]

You're right, Gemma, RCB, and Ross.

I misunderstood their relationship because Sorin owns Carbomedics.

I'll be going now...

 

[Ross]

You're right, Gemma, RCB, and Ross.

I misunderstood their relationship because Sorin owns Carbomedics.

I'll be going now...

You ain't goin no where! Get back here Mister.

 

[ALCapshaw2]

Fantastic Michael!

Dr. McGiffin is a WONDERFUL person and has an outstanding reputation among patients AND Doctors. He will answer ALL of your questions so do your home work on the valve choices. Several of our members had excellent results with Dr. McGiffin and all speak highly of him.

If you don't already know, tissue valves do not require anticoagulation (unless you develop a permanent arrhythmia which is rare). The down side is that they wear out an will need to be replaced (10 to 20 years typically, depending on a lot of factors).

Mechanical Valves should last longer than you (or anyone) will live assuming there are no other developments. Unfortunately, they can cause blood clots to develop so anticoagulation (Coumadin) is required for life to prevent clots from developing. The standard St. Jude mechanical valve is the GOLD STANDARD with a long and successful track record.

The NEW generation mechanical valves (On-X, Sorin, ATS) have been designed using the principles of fluid dynamics to reduce turbulence and lower the likelihood of clot formation. With further testing and studies, it may be possible to use lower levels of anticoagulation with these valves and as has been mentioned, the On-X valve is being studied in Europe with aspirin only.

Let us all know what Dr. McGiffin has to say about the new generation mechanical valves!

'AL Capshaw'

 

[RCB]

You ain't goin no where! Get back here Mister.

DITTO!

You are too important.

Nobody does tissue like you do


My original point of my question was I thought that maybe you had information that CarboMedics was distributing Sorin valves in the US now.
CarboMedics is a "tried-and-true" line, but I think Sorin is a little more advanced. Of course, GM distributed the Buick, Oldsmobile, Pontiac line
for years and is still doing the samething with the truck lines of Chevrolet
and GMC. All share only cosmetic differences in some models.

*** Sorry Cort- I know this grieves you ***

 

[Rush20]

I am a 38 yr male that was recently diagnosed with Severe AI. About 12 months ago, I accidentally discovered that my blood pressure was extremely high.. about 210/100.

My family doc put me on Norvasc to lower my pressure. About two months later, I was suffering from chest pain and was admitted into the local hospital. I failed the stress test. I was cathed and no blockages were found. Later, a heart echo determined that I had a leaking bicuspid aortic valve. Moderate 2+. EF 62%

Fast forward to May 2005, I have another heart echo, and my bicuspid aortic valve is now leaking severely 4+ and my left ventricle is enlarged [6.2 cm]. My aortic root is also enlarged [3.9 cm]. EF 60% . Chest X ray also shows my heart is enlarged

The cardiologist asks me how I feel. .. I felt great.. Strong as an Ox.

Now, its September 2005..Labor day weekend.
I work around the yard and go atving.. however.. I notice that I get short of breath really easy. Even washing the cars, I notice that I keep getting winded. That night, I wake up gasping for air. I have to walk around for I while and eventually feel better.

I go to the cardiologist the next morning. He orders a cath. The prognosis is the aortic valve is severely leaking. He recommends AVR and refers me to surgeon. The surgeon also recommends that I have the valve replaced.

If I wait, my heart will be come more enlarged along with my aortic root. I don?t want to injure my heart beyond recovery but don?t want to have the surgery too early.

The dr. says it time now? What do y?all think?

DO IT! I was in a similar situation at age 40. I had no symptoms whatsover. The only reason they found out I had a leaking aortic valve was because they heard the murmur when I went to the doctor to treat a nagging head cold. Within 5 weeks after diagnosis I had surgery to prevent any heart or root damage and to replace the valve. My heart had enlarged slightly, however the surgeon felt that due to the immediate action taken, no further damage would occur and the heart has actually returned to normal size. He was right.

I was born with a bicuspid valve, however it was an infection from a dental surgery 6 months earlier that caused the valve to fail. The valve had actually developed holes in it which increased the risk of a catostrophic event. Up until my echo, I had participated in weight training, biking, running and baseball with absolutely no symptoms. When I was told I need surgery, I had my cardio double check the patient record and social security number just to be sure he wasn't mixing me up with someone else.

Not to be morbid, however outwardly healthy people drop over dead because conditions like this go undiagnosed. Consider yourself blessed that you found out, like I did, beforehand.

Good luck!