A
Alan in Cali
My Dad had a congenital heart defect (bicuspid aortic valve?) which required replacing his aortic valve with a porcine valve. The replacement surgery occured in Virginia around 16 years ago. There were complications following the first surgery (fluid buildup) which resulted in a pericardectomy (they stripped the pericardium). That did not stop the fluid buildup and after one of his lungs collapsed he was flown from VA to MGH in Mass where upon opening him up, the surgeon (John Wayne (no kidding)) found an absess behind his heart. It was removed and all went well.
16 years later his porcine valve broke (one of the flaps(???) broke off. He'd been followed by various cardiologists for several years and had avr but they wanted to put off the redo due to the scarring from the first procedure(s). Now it needs to be done. His avr has worsened and he has trouble breathing and lacks energy. His diastolic blood pressure is hovering between 35 and 40 so we need to move fairly quickly. He is here with me in san francisco but the surgeon at our hospital won't operate because he says its too risky.
There are some complicating factors. Dad caught Hep C from a blood transfusion he recieved in 1976 (GI surgery). This led to chirrosis which in turn led to Liver Cancer. Thankfully, Dad's liver cancer was caught very early and thus far appears to be under control (the cells are dormant).
His liver doc has described Dad's liver as high functioning and put him in a "childs class a" category. Childs class A means that the liver disease is fairly mild. Dad was (until this new mishap) a liver transplant candidate.
An open heart operation carries around a 30 percent mortality rate
which the surgeon desrcibed as high. According to the docs. replacement surgery means putting him on a heart/lung machine which places strain on the liver. The surgeon thought the risk of liver failure plus the risk of bleeding out was too high to justify the surgery.
Instead, his cardiologist suggested waiting until the right sized percutaneous valve comes out (in October) and seeing if Dad could qualify for the clinical trial. That could happen in October.
We are devastated but respectfully disagree with the suggested options. Waiting is risky. Right now his heart is strong. There is no cororanry artery disease of any kind. Still, with the porcine valve already broken and detriorating, we have to act fast.
We have contacted another surgeon (Dr. Vincent Gaudiani) and are set to meet with him in about a week. G-d willing he will do the surgery. I hear good things about him. I'm also trying to get in contact with the Cleveland Clinic's nurse coordinator to see if we can get a long distance consult.
I was stunned when i came across this group and it looks like a valuable resource. If any one has some suggestions or insights, we are in desperate need of your help. Other hospitals, suggestions etc. would be much appreciated.
Help me save my Dad!
16 years later his porcine valve broke (one of the flaps(???) broke off. He'd been followed by various cardiologists for several years and had avr but they wanted to put off the redo due to the scarring from the first procedure(s). Now it needs to be done. His avr has worsened and he has trouble breathing and lacks energy. His diastolic blood pressure is hovering between 35 and 40 so we need to move fairly quickly. He is here with me in san francisco but the surgeon at our hospital won't operate because he says its too risky.
There are some complicating factors. Dad caught Hep C from a blood transfusion he recieved in 1976 (GI surgery). This led to chirrosis which in turn led to Liver Cancer. Thankfully, Dad's liver cancer was caught very early and thus far appears to be under control (the cells are dormant).
His liver doc has described Dad's liver as high functioning and put him in a "childs class a" category. Childs class A means that the liver disease is fairly mild. Dad was (until this new mishap) a liver transplant candidate.
An open heart operation carries around a 30 percent mortality rate
which the surgeon desrcibed as high. According to the docs. replacement surgery means putting him on a heart/lung machine which places strain on the liver. The surgeon thought the risk of liver failure plus the risk of bleeding out was too high to justify the surgery.
Instead, his cardiologist suggested waiting until the right sized percutaneous valve comes out (in October) and seeing if Dad could qualify for the clinical trial. That could happen in October.
We are devastated but respectfully disagree with the suggested options. Waiting is risky. Right now his heart is strong. There is no cororanry artery disease of any kind. Still, with the porcine valve already broken and detriorating, we have to act fast.
We have contacted another surgeon (Dr. Vincent Gaudiani) and are set to meet with him in about a week. G-d willing he will do the surgery. I hear good things about him. I'm also trying to get in contact with the Cleveland Clinic's nurse coordinator to see if we can get a long distance consult.
I was stunned when i came across this group and it looks like a valuable resource. If any one has some suggestions or insights, we are in desperate need of your help. Other hospitals, suggestions etc. would be much appreciated.
Help me save my Dad!
