I met my surgeon, today, for the first time. The meeting has left me feeling really relieved so I think I'm going to sleep well tonight. My AVR is now scheduled for 22 Sep, 09. He quickly came to the point and asked if I had thought about a valve. I told him that like so many I was torn between the two types and asked what he felt would be the best compromise. He wasted no time in recommending the Carpentier-Edwards bio-prosthetic. His main point was that at 60 the CE should give me years of useful service before it degrades. He then went on to add that trans-catheter repair for the CE will be available, perhaps, by the end of 2010. We next talked about the incision which he feels needs to be the full sternal bisection, however, he wants to close it with "sternal talons". He showed them to me and demonstrated how they work. Essentially, they are three implanted titanium clamps that pull the two halves of the sternum together and then lock in place. He says that using them prevents any motion in the sternum as it heals leaving the patient with less discomfort. When healed, the sternum should be quite solid. I've not read about these before today but you can see them at: http://www.klsmartinusa.com/Sternal_Talon.672.0.html. Have any of you experience with these devices? I did a search of VR and didn’t find any references to them. So now a little over three weeks to get things ready at home then I join the gang on the other side. Good night for now.
