I just realised one of my friends has a mechanical valve. I've know him for a good few years but he obviously decided to say nothing about it. After I told him about my op he mentioned he had the same. What a coincidence!
Anyway, he said that he expects another op in 20-30 years going on what his cardio said after his initial op. I told him that the valve should last forever, 50 years+. At his yearly appointment with his cardio he mentioned this and she also said it would last a lifetime, contradicting what she had said 5 years ago. People who had bileaflet valves 30 years ago still have the same valves now. And of course we have longer histories with previous valve types. Many aspects have changed over the last 30 years, especially surgical technique which greatly reduce leakage around the valves etc in the short and long term. However, she also pointed out that it would last a lifetime without any complications... There are certain complications we can't do anything about, such as pannus formation. However, we can control our INR, substantially lower the risk of infection with care and keep BP, heart rate lower which could put extra pressure on the valves.
He also had his aortic root replaced (as did I) and apparently his cardio also said that many mechanical valves need replacing again with bicuspid valve patients because of late dilation of the aorta. This is a problem in itself but can also cause leaks with the mech valve and other serious issues. I'm extremely glad my surgeon replaced my aortic root at the same time even though it was only mildy dilated. Although it made for a riskier op it far outweighs the risks of doing this later in life. In fact the combination of a dacron graft and mechanical valve are pretty indestructible on paper! I was told that there is more chance of a fib/ arrhythmia with a dacron root due to the heart remodelling itself to fit the new 'set-up'. However, I've been lucky with this and had nothing so far..(only been 7 weeks)
One other last bit of info she gave him was that operation survival, long term outcome were mainly down to comorbidities, not the valve itself, including valve related events.
Anyway, that gave me a nice bit of reassurance which I need every now and again!
Anyway, he said that he expects another op in 20-30 years going on what his cardio said after his initial op. I told him that the valve should last forever, 50 years+. At his yearly appointment with his cardio he mentioned this and she also said it would last a lifetime, contradicting what she had said 5 years ago. People who had bileaflet valves 30 years ago still have the same valves now. And of course we have longer histories with previous valve types. Many aspects have changed over the last 30 years, especially surgical technique which greatly reduce leakage around the valves etc in the short and long term. However, she also pointed out that it would last a lifetime without any complications... There are certain complications we can't do anything about, such as pannus formation. However, we can control our INR, substantially lower the risk of infection with care and keep BP, heart rate lower which could put extra pressure on the valves.
He also had his aortic root replaced (as did I) and apparently his cardio also said that many mechanical valves need replacing again with bicuspid valve patients because of late dilation of the aorta. This is a problem in itself but can also cause leaks with the mech valve and other serious issues. I'm extremely glad my surgeon replaced my aortic root at the same time even though it was only mildy dilated. Although it made for a riskier op it far outweighs the risks of doing this later in life. In fact the combination of a dacron graft and mechanical valve are pretty indestructible on paper! I was told that there is more chance of a fib/ arrhythmia with a dacron root due to the heart remodelling itself to fit the new 'set-up'. However, I've been lucky with this and had nothing so far..(only been 7 weeks)
One other last bit of info she gave him was that operation survival, long term outcome were mainly down to comorbidities, not the valve itself, including valve related events.
Anyway, that gave me a nice bit of reassurance which I need every now and again!
