PFO Repair

[Agian]

I'm going in for a through-the-groin repair of a patent Foramen Ovale. It is thought that this was the cause of my TIA, about three months ago. PFO is also associated with migraines, which I also get. So, fingers crossed.

As an aside, I quizzed this interventional cardiologist about developments in TAVI: 'We're already doing it in some elderly patients.' He told me that it's likely this will be safely used in younger people... sometime in the near future. 'They'll just keep on piling them on top of each other' ... Sort of valve-in-valve-in-valve etc.

Has anyone else had PFO closure?

 

[Adrienne]

I had a PFO closure at the same time I had my MV repair. So, my chest was already open. Actually, I never knew I had a PFO until after the operation when my surgeon told me he closed it up!

 

[Marcia58]

Same for me as for Adrienne!

ETA: ...and now I almost never get migraines!

 

[Agian]

I'm going in for a catheter repair on Friday. But on Thursday I'm getting a surgical opinion as to whether it's feasible to have an earlier OHS, to kill two birds with one stone.

 

[mbeard]

Agian, hope this goes well

Agian, hope this goes well

I'm going in for a catheter repair on Friday. But on Thursday I'm getting a surgical opinion as to whether it's feasible to have an earlier OHS, to kill two birds with one stone.

I have been reading your posts with interest. You are In the waiting room with your aneurysm. I was just diagnosed in August 2013 with a bicuspid valve and enlarged aorta...4.2 . I am 57.

I have a question. Are you in the same town as your surgeon? I got a second opinion at a big heart center, and have settled on this very competent surgeon. But my constant worry is this, What if I have an emergency in my smaller hometown? Do I need to have a relationship with a cardiac surgeon where I live, even though I plan to have a PLANNED surgery elsewhere?

As of now, I have an appt. with a cardiovascular surgeon at home next week, just for comfort, but I am nervous about this?

Will he be offended? Do I tell him I plan to have the surgery at a larger heart center, or just get the information I need from him? My cardiologist made the appointment for me, as I have already been to the emergency room once since my diagnosis? (nothing had changed on my ct scan).

Thanks

 

[Agian]

I wouldn't worry about offending anyone. Besides, you may not need an operation for a while, by which time the doctors you might potentially offend wouldn't recognise you in the street. I would want to have someone closer to home as a back-up, as well. I'm in Adelaide, which has a few cardiothoracic surgeons, so I don't have to travel far. Just get the information you need from him, without informing him of your long-term plans. I'm in the same boat. I'm seeing a surgeon tomorrow for a 'second opinion'. I'm not going to tell him I'll probably be operated on by someone else. Besides, I might like him better than the other guy. I'm also nervous.

 

[mbeard]

Thanks, I needed that reassurance. I know that my anxiety is causing me some stress...ie extra heartbeats. My local cardiologist wants to keep me from over worrying. In the meantime, I worry. Can't help it.

In reading about everyone's heart problems, isssues, upcoming OHS surgeries, I feel like I am in a group of people that
Understand my fears on this forum.

 

[mbeard]

Thanks for sure. I was going to go into too much detail.

 

[Agian]

It's a pleasure. This is all a bit of a game to them, but for us it's a big deal. The more opinions you get the better.

 

[Jkm7]

Thanks, I needed that reassurance. I know that my anxiety is causing me some stress...ie extra heartbeats. My local cardiologist wants to keep me from over worrying. In the meantime, I worry. Can't help it.

In reading about everyone's heart problems, isssues, upcoming OHS surgeries, I feel like I am in a group of people that
Understand my fears on this forum.

That is one of the many benefits of this Forum.
No one can understand the worries, the anxiety, the experience the same as someone who has walked the walk.
The support of being able to chat with people who are at exactly the same step in the process as you as well as those who have been through the surgery and all it involved (some of us more than once) is priceless. We don't tell you what we heard or imagine, we tell you what we actually experienced and how we got through it.

It is important to realize we all go through it a bit differently and this is very individual as to how we recover and how we are treated but no one who has not dragged themselves through the doors of a hospital and submitted to open heart surgery can understand the way we can.

I had two OHS in four years at the same hospital, with the same surgeon and many of the same techs and even some nurses and each experience was different. I went through the second surgery much easier and recovered much faster. No saying exactly why.

You have every reason to think you will do just fine.

 

[mbeard]

Jkm7,

Thank you for your response. I have so much more knowledge than I did after all my doctors appts. I am getting a second opinion from a local surgeon next week. He won't know what hit him when I walk in with my question list.