Nervous and curious about surgery

[Philip]

Hello Marcie, This is not nearly traumatic as most of us imagine it to be prior to surgery. Before my valve reared it's head I had never even used my deductible on my insurance and considered a trip to the dental hygienist to be a major procedure so I know how you feel. Despite a few minor bumps in the road to recovery I was able to resume normal activities rapidly. I was able to climb stairs and care for myself at discharge and even cheated and went for a short bike ride at 3 weeks (don't tell anyone) by 6 weeks I was trying to do something that resembled running, it really did not qualify as a run but I felt well enough to try.
Now for my bits of advice:
1) Get frequent massages if possible; your back neck and shoulders will likely be sore and uncomfortable for a while.
2) DON'T SNEEZE!!!!!

Have a speedy recovery.

Philip

 

[marciemarine]

Thanks for the support!

Thanks for the support!

Wow, I only posted this thread last night and I have heard from so many of you nice folks and am encouraged by your support. Thank you so much! I'm really finding this helpful!
Mike from Rome, NY- Hi neighbor! I was wondering where you had your valve replacement done. I'm currently scheduled withDr. Joyce at St. Elizabeth's in Utica. I look forward to hearing from you. I go to talk to Dr. Joyce on Thursday afternoon. Marcie

 

[marciemarine]

More from Marcie

More from Marcie

I forgot to note that I had been diagnosed with aortic stenosis ten years ago at 43 at an annual checkup. The mitral stenosis showed up about four years ago and they have both progressed. The aortic stenosis is now severe and the mitral stenosis is moderate.
I'm not sure yet whether the doctor will replace the mitral valve or repair it, but I do know that they will replace the aortic valve with a mechanical one.
I'm looking forward to the day when I won't tire so easily.

 

[Sheila2old]

Hello & Welcome Marcie!
The best advice I can give you is Read, read, read and then read some more! This site has been wonderful for me since I found it a while back. I was like you in that heart trouble came out of nowhere and was going to be double valves but I also got a repair to do for good measure! I've had trouble finding a surgeon as I'm a bit higher risk due to Radiation therapy years ago but today I found a Dr to do it!
Learn all that you can between now & Thursday so you know what to ask and what the heck they are talking about! This site is the BEST for that stuff and there are many wonderful people here to ask questions to.
I wish you all the best of luck Marcie and again, welcome to you!

 

[tprice54]

Another CNYer

Another CNYer

Welcome Marcie...I'm firmly planted in the waiting room, awaiting AVR. I just wanted to let you know you can check out NY hospitals and success rates on line. St. Joseph's in Syracuse is one of the top 2 for heart surgeries in NY. Keep posting and let us know how you are doing...

http://www.health.state.ny.us/nysdoh/heart/pdf/2001-2003_cabg.pdf

Tom Price
Clay, NY

 

[Mike]

Hey Marcie,

I went to University Hospital in Syracuse for surgery; I had a very positive experience/outcome there. Dr. Fink did my surgery. Who's your cardiologist? Is he/she in Oneida, Rome, Utica?

If you would like to have a phone conversation with either me or my wife, send us something by private message. We'd be glad to talk to you or whatever. I know I would have liked to talk to someone who had mechanicals before I had my surgery. As a matter of fact, I've only met one person face-to-face since surgery who has a mechanical.

Mike

 

[Mike]

Hey Tom,

Clay, NY. Is that in the Syracuse area?

Mike

 

[marciemarine]

Saw surgeon and learned abut surgery

Saw surgeon and learned abut surgery

I went to see the surgeon on Thursday and I'm impressed by him. He told me that he would like to replace both my Aortic and my mitral valves because mt aortic valve is severely stenotic and my mitral valve is moderate and might wait a couple of years to need replacing, but if they replace the aortic valve now and put off the mitral valve replacement, the the mitral valve may need replacing then and the second surgery would be more complex since the mechanical aortic valve would be in the way and difficult to manuever around . He said he thinks that it would be best to replace bith valves in the same operation. He said my heart muscle is still strong and my veins and arteries are very clear which is a good thing. He showed me a mechanical mitral valve and his web site which is mvsurgery.com/beta which has many pictures of heart valves. I plan to look at that soon. Anyway, since my husband has just had a catheteization and angioplasty, I'm probably going to wait until he has the second angioplasty in two to three weeks before I schedule my surgery, which will probably be in the beginning of November. Thanks for you support. Marcie

 

[Joe Cool]

A little something for you double valvers

A little something for you double valvers

Better, faster, leaner, meaner, you are all...

 

[ALCapshaw2]

If you want to get you surgery in before Christmas, I'd recommend calling the surgeon's office ASAP and selecting a convenient date. Top surgeon's often have a LONG waiting list that can extend out a couple of MONTHS.

SO, make your reservation NOW.

Have you selected which valve you prefer?
Is your surgeon familiar with the On-X valves?
That would be my choice today.

'AL Capshaw'

 

[lilbit]

I just had my Aortic valve replaced with the On-X valve on Sept. 5th. If you have any questions. Please let me know. I am very happy with my choice of valves. you may want to check out the On-X website (www.onxvalves.com) ...And I am almost 4 weeks out and regaining my energy. But of course still taking it easy