New Member.

[Retimlap]

I was on the table having a TAVR on my aortic valve when the surgeon decided to abort the procedure. He was concerned that if he inserted the new valve one of the leaflets on the old valve would block the arteries to my heart. The leaflet was very rigid and just laid down instead of compressing as is expected.

Now they want to cut me open and replace the valve. Not sure I want to be cut open. A friend recommended I come here to learn more.

 

[Standardvelocity]

Welcome, OHS is most times the only option. I had my aortic valve replaced with a mechanical vv and had an aortic aneurysms repaired, that was on Valentine’s Day. Now 4 months later I am pretty well healed most soreness is gone but I still am cautious when sneezing. Muscle soreness is there as I do more and new things after a couple of months of just walking.

 

[Deidra]

Welcome to the forum.

Open heart surgical valve replacement has the best long term outcomes. Surgeons and their teams are very experienced with it and its very effective and safe. No info on your age/other health conditions, but there are stories on this forum from all sorts of people about their uneventful recovery after surgical valve replacement.

I'm 28 and had a mechanical Bentall procedure on May 8th. I'm already walking 8000 steps a day and feeling better than I did before surgery.

 

[Chuck C]

Welcome to the forum.

Like the others who have responded, I have had open heart surgery. Bentall Procedure, replacing my aortic valve with a mechanical valve and replacing my aortic root and ascending aorta with a dacron sleeve, and this occured just over 3 years ago. I am now back to all my regular activities and have been for some time.

If you would have told me 5 years ago, before my aortic stenosis diagnosis, that I would have to undergo OHS, I would have been very concerned. It turns out it was not that bad. It was not a cake walk, and took some preparation and dedication to recovery, but really was not nearly as bad as I would have imagined.

I found this forum a few months before my procedure and am very glad that I did. I really helped me to hear from others who had faced what I was facing, some of them multiple times. They helped me see that there is life after OHS and things will return to normal. It has become a very routine surgery with excellent outcomes.

I hope that this forum is as helpful for you as it was for me. Take your time and read some of the many threads. You'll notice that most get their surgery and then go on with their lives as normal, maybe popping in every few months or every few years to say hi.

Please ask us any questions that you may have.

 

[Retimlap]

Deidra,

I'm old and I'm fat! But i am in pretty good shape for an old, fat guy!

 

[Chuck C]

Deidra,

I'm old and I'm fat! But i am in pretty good shape for an old, fat guy!

In the heart valve world, under 70 is considered young, 70 to 85 is considered middle aged, and old would be over 85.

Those of us under 60 are basically toddlers. Folks in their 20s and 30s, like Deidre, are pretty much newborns.

 

[Deidra]

In the heart valve world, under 70 is considered young, 70 to 85 is considered middle aged, and old would be over 85.

Those of us under 60 are basically toddlers. Folks in their 20s and 30s, like Deidre, are pretty much newborns.

Yeah this is extremely accurate. I was kinda shocked when I found out that "young" in studies on heart valve patients means younger than like 55-60. Heart surgery is very common in those older than 50, with great results.

 

[pellicle]

I was kinda shocked when I found out that "young" in studies on heart valve patients means younger than like 55-60.

apparently I only started posting this image in Feb 2018

but I can't say for how long before that I was saying just this.

PS: for context this was me (something like) 7 years after my first OHS

I classify myself as a "younger patient" even on my 3rd OHS.

I probably classify myself as a "difficult patient"


or at least I would have been were I in that world.

 

[Chuck C]

I found out that "young" in studies on heart valve patients means younger than like 55-60.

There are truly several studies in which 'young' is defined as under 70. The headlines are typically, "Valve xyz has proven good results in young patients." Folks in their 30s and 40s get excited about the headline, but if you read the details of the study you learn that young means under 70.

 

[dick0236]

Deidra,

I'm old and I'm fat! But i am in pretty good shape for an old, fat guy!

How old?......60, 70, 80. Since your surgeon aborted the TAVR you must have some sort of significant problem. An OHS can fix the problem and you will be on your way to a longer and healthier life.

 

[Retimlap]

D0236, I am 61. I am also very large. Procedure was aborted because surgeon decided that a leaflet on the old valve would block my coronary artery. The leaflet was stiff and laid flat instead of collapsing under the TAVR valve.

 

[carolinemc]

I was on the table having a TAVR on my aortic valve when the surgeon decided to abort the procedure. He was concerned that if he inserted the new valve one of the leaflets on the old valve would block the arteries to my heart. The leaflet was very rigid and just laid down instead of compressing as is expected.

Now they want to cut me open and replace the valve. Not sure I want to be cut open. A friend recommended I come here to learn more.

I would have the valve replaced. For the old one is malfunctioning and needs replacing ASAP.

 

[Superman]

Well, sounds like you have two choices then. Replace, or run the clock out. If you’re having any fun in this world at all, opt for choice number one! It ain’t so bad.

 

[Croooser]

I was 71 and approx. 215 lbs. I was walking about 3 miles/day for years prior to surgery. I did just fine so far.

YMMV

 

[Yankeeman2]

I would have the valve replaced. For the old one is malfunctioning and needs replacing ASAP.

I had my stenotic aortic valve replaced wirh a St. Jude valve in 1977. Have to take warfarin daily and have blood tested for coagulation rate every week or so, but other than that life is normal. Surgery was uneventful.

 

[skeptic49]

> Procedure was aborted because surgeon decided that a leaflet on the old valve would block my coronary artery.

This is a concern that I have about TAVR. I had a Bentall with two CABG grafts which I needed to get me off the pump at the end of surgery. I would like to know how often this problem occurs with TAVR...the potential for something blocking a native coronary artery or a graft. At 75 I guess I could could have a second SAVR instead of TAVR. Retimlap, if I were you I would get surgery ASAP.

 

[Chuck C]

I had my stenotic aortic valve replaced wirh a St. Jude valve in 1977. Have to take warfarin daily and have blood tested for coagulation rate every week or so, but other than that life is normal. Surgery was uneventful.

That's 47 years!! Excellent! Thanks for sharing.

Mine is only 3 years old. When my valve is 47 I'll be 99. I have a long way to go to tie your valve's longevity. To tie @dick0236 I need to make it to at least 109, as his valve is now 57 years old.

 

[pellicle]

I had my stenotic aortic valve replaced wirh a St. Jude valve in 1977. Have to take warfarin daily and have blood tested for coagulation rate every week or so, but other than that life is normal. Surgery was uneventful.

This is the sort of thing which I do wish was amore commonly used ... so pardon me if I cite this as well as I usually cite @dick0236 's experience too ...

well done ... may I ask how old you were in 77?

 

[Yankeeman2]

This is the sort of thing which I do wish was amore commonly used ... so pardon me if I cite this as well as I usually cite @dick0236 's experience too ...

well done ... may I ask how old you were in 77?

I was 28. I'm 74 now and still healthy and lead a very active and physically demanding life. Just can't understand why anyone with a stenotic valve would get a cow or pig valve instead of a mechanical one. (Except if they were much older than that.)

 

[pellicle]

I was 28. I'm 74 now and still healthy and lead a very active and physically demanding life. Just can't understand why anyone with a stenotic valve would get a cow or pig valve instead of a mechanical one. (Except if they were much older than that.)

this is a textbook outcome and classic reason for the actual surgical guidelines.
from
https://www.ahajournals.org/doi/10.1161/CIR.0000000000000923#d1e9800

2020 ACC/AHA Guideline for the Management of Patients With Valvular Heart Disease: A Report of the American College of Cardiology/American Heart Association Joint Committee on Clinical Practice Guidelines​

where COR and LOE are defined as:
1.5. Class of Recommendation and Level of Evidence
The Class of Recommendation (COR) indicates the strength of recommendation, encompassing the estimated magnitude and certainty of benefit in proportion to risk. The Level of Evidence (LOE) rates the quality of scientific evidence supporting the intervention on the basis of the type, quantity, and consistency of data from clinical trials and other sources

I note the same points as Dr Schaff did in his views on these more modern American Guidelines; however it would seem to me that for someone robustly under 60 years of age and in the absence of contra-indication to AntiCoagulation Therapy (warfarin) anything other than a mechanical verges on malpractice).

PS: the whole presentation is worth it (really worth it) but this section here is pretty interesting (note: single clinic, which was the Mayo)