New St Judes Valve Replaced

[maggie wright]

My husband had a AVR in April of 2000 and they put in a St Judes. At age 53 they said it would last a lifetime while the others would wear out. Well since June its been leaking and after a heart cath last Tue they decided it needed to be replaced soon.
The 4 bypasses he had are still clear. It looks like the surgery will be the beginning of November. Has anyone had to have a redo out there except for Nancys husband? This is very rare we have been told.

 

[LUVMyBirman]

Hi Maggie

Hang in there.

Does your husband have the St. Jude 'Silzone'?That may be the concern. These particular valves were recalled. St. Jude was claiming that the 'Silzone' coated valve would ward off bacterium. It backfired in some causing the unraveling where the valve is stitched in.

Since it sounds like he has been stable for a while... I am sure he will be just fine once he gets that valve replaced.

Just for the record.... was informed by my surgeon and cardioligst that there is no perfect fit to a valve replacement. A lot of us show trival leakage that is not noted. We seem to be doing just fine.

God bless and keep us posted

PS. Forgot to add that vegitation (bacterium) attached to the valve could necessitate replacement. Any mention of that?

 

[Christina]

Hi maggie,

I had a redo within eleven days due to a blood clot in August 2000. My first mechanical valve was a Sultzer Carbomedics. My second one is a St.Jude's.
Doing fine after one year post-op. Am going for my one year check-up on the 5th of October.

Christina
Aortic Stenosis
AVR 8-7-00 & 8-18-00
St.Jude's Mechanical
Coumadin 19 mg a day.

 

[maggie wright]

St Judes valve replacement

St Judes valve replacement

No this was not a silzone valve if they gave me the right serial number. I was aware of the recall and asked for the number.

 

[SandyK]

AVR redo

AVR redo

Maggie I had my 1st AVR in August 1990 & they put in a St. Jude valve, they told me it would last a life time. Well i started having alot of problems and told my docs about it, they shrugged me off. To make a long story short I had another AVR in Dec. 2000 at the cleveland clinic. I have a CarboMedics aortic valve now. I asked the docs what the St. Jude looked like and what went wrong with it, they told me that there were clots all around the valve, therefore not enough blood could get threw it. I have been on Coumadin for 11 yrs now and I had emergency surgery in 1995 to remove bloodclot from my right arm. I dont want to scare anyone but from what I have expierenced, you can still develope a clot even on coumadin. I am on Coumadin & Aspirin now. But I am a weird person when it comes to my health. If something is going on with the right side of my body, they find something on the left side, LOL.

If you would like to talk more Just Email me.
SandyK

 

[PhilCraun]

Hi, Maggie

Hi, Maggie

I had a St. Judes put in on July 6th and found out last Friday that it is leaking. I also had been told that it would last a lifetime. My cardio doesn't seem too concerned since he said he will schedule an echo in 6 months. I am beginning to wonder if that is soon enough as I am beginning to see an increase in my shortness of breath. I was so pleased that my surgery went so well, it is more than a little depressing to find that I may have to go through it all over again.
Best of luck with your husband's procedure and keep us up on his progress.

 

[LUVMyBirman]

Sorry to hear about all of your 're-do's after such a short time. I will be praying for you and yours.

Interested in finding out which position these faulty St. Judes valves were or are in?

Take care,

 

[Bob Gleason]

Leaking Valves??

Leaking Valves??

I'm curious to know how one finds out if a valve is leaking? Are there symptoms? Does an echogram give any indication of leaks?

Thanks.

 

[Nancy]

Joe was very symptomatic and his leak was diagnosed with a TEE. Even then the leak showed up as mild to moderate, and not worthy of redo. But as his symptoms worsened, it became abundantly clear that surgery would have to be done.

The leak was repaired rather than replaced and the surgeon said the leak was very small. He was barely able to get the tip of the forceps in it. But I guess the whole system has to be a "closed" system for it to work properly. Lots of blood can run out of a small hole.

 

[Zipper#5]

Maggie, I am in the same boat only I had a bovine valve put in one yr ago and it's leaking botharound the sides and though the center. Part of the reason is that the hemograph, the technique used to attach the valve, didn't take. I'm having it replaced probably next month. They want to put a mechanical in but I am not happy about it.

Good luck!

 

[LUVMyBirman]

Hi Bob

How are things?

Going to try to answer your question here.....best detection for leaking valves is #1 TEE Echo. Not fun, trust me. #2 Level 2 Doppler echo. Most of the time....it will be audible so the cardiologist can hear it.

After my surgery they thought I had a 'peri-valvular' leak around the sewing ring., i.e. suture or stitch popped. Showed up until 6 months post op. Then it disappeared! Explanation, my very own tissues started to cover it over during the healing process. Lucky day for me. . The surgeon would not have done anything about it unless it started to unravel and cause symptoms. Most of the time these areas can be more susceptible to attracting infection.

One thing that has not been explained is how on earth can I be showing signs of calcification of a prosthetic valve??? They are not sure....but could be the scar tissue. Under all of these circumstances (if it is not severe) you can remain stable for years. Just think about how long you had your valve condition before it needed a 'fix'!

Bob, will you meet us this weekend? Sure hope so. Would not be the same. Who are we going to tease? Come on pack your bags! And let us know so we can have your cake ready!

See you,

 

[maggie wright]

st judes redo

st judes redo

My husband, Bob is scheduled for his redo on November 5 at 8AM.
He is going to have it at the same hospital but by a different surgon. His orginal surgon has retired. This surgon has much experience with redos.. The leak was found when he became very tired and after his blood was checked his hemoglobin was 11 after being 14 post op and it now has fallen even more. His heptoglobin count is 8 and is supposed to be much higher. We were told this shows the red blood cells are being chewed up as they leak out. He also had an echo cadriogram which showed the leak and then finally the angiogram which also showed it leaking around the attachment ring. The doctor doesn't know why this happened and said they may be able to put in some stitches to fix it but that is not likley. The operation will take as long as the first even though he is not getting bypasses because they have to work around the 4 bypasses but he said recovery should be shorter. We asked about a different type of valve but he recomended another mechanical brcasuse of his age.

Maggie

 

[Nancy]

Wanted to wish your husband the best of luck with his redo. I hope they can take a couple of stitches like they did with my husband Joe.

He's got many of the symptoms that Joe had including the chewed up red blood cells.

At any rate, he'll be feeling better after.

 

[maxximom]

for Maggie and some questions

for Maggie and some questions

Hi Maggie
I'm Joan and I will be 2 weeks post op tomorow. I had a prcine valve and a triple bypass. Your husband is one of the few people that I know that has also had a bypass and a valve replacement..so I was particularly interested in your post. I am of course in the throws of recovery and am doing quite well in terms of pain. I have some viisual problems and I hope that they resolve very soon..because reading is a real problem at the moment. I am going to get a Holter monitor tomorrow, because I have noticed some palpatations or "hard" heart beats. When I read about "valve failures" It make me very nervous..(I hope never to have to do this again. Did they have any answers to why the valve failed? How common a occurance is valve failure?
Has anyone any info about it?
Between still having shortness of breath and the palpatations I am a basket case.
I am having the staples removed on the 18th..I don't remember anyone asking since I found this forum...What to expect when they take out the staples..how much does it hurt..or are you just so glad that they are being taken out..that you don't give a damm.
Also I nitice I can't eat very much at all..I feel so bloated and have NO appitite at all (great for the weight) It seems that everything has a "Bitter"undertaste to it (even a chocolate Brownir) I don't know if its due to the meds I am takingh or what..but everything is either to salty or bitter..anyone else find that a familier pprooblem
Thaaans for your info..will speak to you all soon again
Joan

 

[Nancy]

Hi Joan-

Being that you're only 2 weeks post op, there just might still be some lingering aftereffects from the anesthesia and other meds. they use doing the surgical procedure such as heavy duty antibiotics. It takes quite a while for the body to purge itself from these.

I think you will find that those little quirky things such as bad tastes, etc. will gradually disappear within the next couple of weeks.

There also might be some swelling in the thoracic area causing the bloated feeling, this too should subside gradually.

You've been through some pretty tough surgery, but the body has great recuperative powers.

Good luck with your recovery.

 

[McCln]

Maxiemom

Maxiemom

The reason for the taste you have is because of the salt problem. I have the same problem. One day I was having a can of Cream fo Chicken soup, which has a lot of salt anyway, I took one spoonful and realized the huge taste of the salt in the soup. Alot of salty foods will not taste right in postop. Becuase of the surgery I have not had a huge appatite, but I do know when I am hungry and have lost weight also. As time passes, you will feel better and the hunger for food will return, but keep up the good work. I have lost over 13 pounds so far after my surgery of Sept. 13, 2001. You keep haning in there.






Sept. 13, 2001
St. Jude Valve

 

[Shari]

For Joan -- Taste of Foods

For Joan -- Taste of Foods

Hi Joan,

After my husband had his surgeries, the nurse told us that taste buds are effected from being on the heart/lung machine. When your blood is drained, it is cleansed of everything - hormones, etc. She said that this will effect tastebuds as well. My husband had a terrible appetite for many weeks. The nurse stressed that it is important to try to eat even if you can't taste anything or it tastes terrible. I would tell my husband to have one bite of everything on his plate (when he was at the hospital) to ensure he was getting some vitamins from everything. Your body needs nourishment so it can become stronger and heal. Eat what you can and know that your tastebuds will come back. Take Care.