Flying limitations after AVR?

[Marcus]

I had my aortic valve and root replaced in Sept 2004. I now have a St. Jude valve clicking away. I was wondering if there are any restriction regarding flying after AVR. I know this may sound like a stupid question but I was just making sure.

If you've flown after VR, how was your experience(s)? Any anxiety?

Thanks so much for your input.

God Bless You.

Marcus

 

[geebee]

Well, I have a St. Jude mitral and have logged over 100,000 miles so, unless there is an issue with an aortic over a mitral, you should be OK.

I have been an anxious flyer since way before my first OHS but I can say the mechanical valve hasn't made it any worse. I am still waiting for the time when someone hears the ticking and tries to turn me in for having a bomb.

 

[Ross]

As a passenger no, as a pilot in command, yes.

 

[nia]

Hi,

I had MVR in Dec. 2003, and flew for 12 hours straight two months after that. The airline required me to get an approval letter from the surgeon for administrative reasons, and the surgeon told me to get plenty of fluid and walk around every once in two hours or so. I have a tissue valve though, so that might make a difference? Everything went fine. I just never liked flying in general, and I read the safety manual at least three times before the takeoff. But, like Gina, the anxiety issue started a long time before the surgery. If anything, I try to walk around more often than before for fear of getting blood clots.

 

[Les]

Over a million miles and 30 countries since both valve surgeries...no problem at all. If on a long flight, do try to get up at least once an hour to avoid any chance of deep vein thrombosis. This is a good practice for anyone regardless of valve replacement.

 

[hensylee]

lots of VRers fly as passengers, but if you are the pilot, we have no history yet in VR on pilots. Anybody know?

 

[catwoman]

Marcus:
I had MVR on 6/24/03, resumed flying to cat shows 8/8/03. No problems.
I went out to DFW Airport before that flight 8/8/03 to ask about any potential problems going through security. First TSA agent said I would set off the machine & would have to be hand-wanded. Next one said no -- and he was correct.
I checked my luggage the first 2 flights because I didn't want to hoist a 30lb TravelPro into the overhead bin.

The only problem I experienced the first 5 months post-op was exhaustion if I had lengthy flight delays. There were quite a few of those -- some were 4+ hours.

I do 15+ flights a year. Some years it's 25,000+ miles, sometimes less. But no problems now.

FYI: Wear slip-on shoes. Even though some TSA agents only "suggest/recommend/advise" you take off your shoes, believe me it's pretty much required EVEN IF YOU ONLY HAVE FOAM FLIP-FLOPS ON. If you insist on wearing your shoes through security, you face hand-wanding, your luggage being opened & perused, your ID & boarding pass being taken up & your name added to a roster, and are apt to being chewed out. You get everything back, of course, but you don't want the delay.
Just wish TSA agents call a spade a spade and require you to take off shoes.

 

[Marty]

A few years ago we got an opinion from FAA that a commercial pilot with an aortic mechanical valve on warfarin could return to work. As far as I know he's still flying. I flew as a passenger 12 weeks after surgery and also take a lot of vacations. Never had any trouble. Happy landings!

 

[Johnny Stephens]

2 mechanicals on board here - have flown dozens of times since my surgery with no cardiac problems. I do notice that the seats are fitting tighter, however, not sure if that is related to my surgery.

 

[INRtest]

Husband had AVR and root replacement in October 2004 and has flown about 7 times since then, with no problems. However, his St. Jude's set off one detector at a courthouse so now when he flies he makes sure he shows the TSA people his card BEFORE he goes through the booth, so that if it does go off, the cage doesn't slam down, tear gas isn't released and the hounds aren't let loose on him.

Pam,
I've had a couple of MRI's -- so there is apparently no metal in my St. Judes MV. How come he had problems with a detector (x-ray???) ? I'm curious and also wondering if you're going to see this post.

Jess

 

[catwoman]

Pam,
I've had a couple of MRI's -- so there is apparently no metal in my St. Judes MV. How come he had problems with a detector (x-ray???) ? I'm curious and also wondering if you're going to see this post.

Jess

Perhaps it was whatever was used to "wire" the sternum together?

I've had one metal detector to go off -- at the St. Louis airport in October 2003. TSA agents couldn't determine what caused the detector to go off. I was concerned because I was flying back to St. Louis in 2 weeks for a cat show and didn't want the hassle of holding a wiggly Persian cat up in the air while I was hand-wanded. But my fears were unfounded -- 2 weeks later, I sailed through security holding my cat and the detector was silent.
Go figure!

It seems that some detectors are set much more sensitive than others. Some airports have ultra-sensitive detectors.
Sometimes my cat's hair on the inside of its carrier will send TSA agents into a tizzy. They'll hand-wand the cat, pore over the carrier, rub those do-dads all over the carrier, go through my carry-on luggage, etc. And not find anything. And then they apologize.

 

[Johnny Stephens]

However, his St. Jude's set off one detector at a courthouse so now when he flies he makes sure he shows the TSA people his card BEFORE he goes through the booth, so that if it does go off, the cage doesn't slam down, tear gas isn't released and the hounds aren't let loose on him.

Must have been something else, because there is no metal in a modern mechanical valve. I doubt the sternal wires were to blame, otherwise the millions of coronary bypass veterans would be setting them off as well.

 

[Buzz Lanning]

Flying as Pilot in Command

Flying as Pilot in Command

lots of VRers fly as passengers, but if you are the pilot, we have no history yet in VR on pilots. Anybody know?

I'm currently working on getting my FAA medical re-certification following AVR. There's an FAA website that specifically outlines the requirements for re-certification after cardiac valve replacement surgery (holter monitor, echocardiogram, stress test, all hospital records, coumadin stability, etc.). Note: The FAA want's 80% of your INR readings to be in the recommended range over the last year.

Also, there's a professional medical group, called Virtual Flight Surgeons, that handle medical re-certification issues for professional & non-professional pilots (at a cost). According to them, there are quite a few transport / commerical pilots flying with artificial heart valves . . .

Buzz
Note: As an FAA certified flight instructor, I can still instruct without a medical certificate (and log the time), assuming my "student" is a certificated pilot (and current); i.e., I can't act as PIC.