I thought I was ready, but truth be told.......

[Duff Man]

the answer about aspirin makes me curious... are you going with a tissue valve?

 

[jake]

Tissue Valve

Tissue Valve

Yes, I am strongly leaning towards a tissue valve. Unfortunately, because I am an auto mechanic/welder, the likelihood of serious cuts is very high (if the past is any judge). In addition to that, I had to seriously consider the ramifications of long term anti-coagulant usage with regards to surgery, dental work, and a family history of ulcers, etc.

My surgeon is about 80% confident that because I have a very healthy bi-cusped valve with no calcification and perfect numbers, that he will be able to perform a valve sparing root replacement. Problem is, he has made it very clear that the whole game changes once he is inside my chest cavity. He went over a lot of situations where by a valve replacement could be required despite the bi-cusped unit being healthy because of the landscape of the aneurism.

A valve selection was mandatory all things considered, but I am not thrilled with facing another surgery in the future because of a tissue valve selection, but all things considered, it’s my best option.

I too was very taken aback about the aspirin thing.

 

[scott.eitman]

Question: Will I be able to go back to normal activities (lifting, skating, hockey, etc)

Answer : No! Once healed up, you will remain on a 50 lb weight restriction for the rest of your life. Although the graft will easily withstand the pressure associated with heavy lifting, the sutures that connect the graft to the heart and to the aortic arch are at risk of tearing away from the aortic material. Heavy lifting and contact sports are going to remain a big NO NO.

As a recipient of a homograft valve at the age of 34, I find this interesting. I was never told this. In fact my Cardio was well aware that I was working our with the local HS wrestling team about 1.5 years post op. I did that for 5 seasons.

I am also an avid Bicyclist, riding about 3,000 miles a year.

Question: will I have to continue to take a baby aspirin a day?

Answer: No, you will have to take a full strength aspirin for the rest of your life.

I did not start baby aspirin until about 9 years after my first surgery. Full strength seems too high a dose.

Question: Is there a chance that pacemaker leads will remain inside my body?

Answer: Absolutely not! We remove them 100% of the time and leave nothing behind except for maybe the part of the leads that connect the leads to the heart. We never leave any part of the leads themselves behind ever.

Correct, except for some of us with mechanical. Mine are in after the second surgery because they did not want to cause internal bleeding. I was on Heperin and now Coumadin.