Potential for my dad to have VR Surgery

[Turkey Hunter]

Ok....WOW. I haven't been on here in a long time....
I will start by saying in 41 years I NEVER remember my dad being in a hospital or sick at the doctor.
Long story short. My dad went to the hospital on Sunday the 30th of November with chest pain......a few tests later we knew he was in A-fib and moderate to severe mitral valve leakage. The doc mentioned surgery concerning the valve.
Ok, the next day they did a cath and discovered blockage and put a stint in.......they ley him recover from that and the planned to cardiovert his heart back to a sinus rhythm. Well, when they performed the TEE the doc found a clot in Dad's left atrium and obviously the cardioverting was postponed.
He has since been sent home on ACT and quite a few other to assist in "dissolving" the clot so they can cardiovert at that time. (Nervous situation waiting 4-6 weeks for dr appt.)
OK, my question right now is surrounding options for the potential replacement of his pulmonic valve in the event they do go in and find it is not repairable.
I have stayed up to date on many things regarding aortic and pulmonic and have very little knowledge with the mitral....Help me out folks. Tell me what you have learned.......

 

[Turkey Hunter]

Just so some of you "old timers" here on VR remember who I am...........
Drum Roll.....
Ben Smith
NW Ohio
Ross Procedure August 2000
Cleveland Clinic

And yes, I am doing very well....prognosis at every check-up has been the same.....
Keep on keeping on!!!

 

[Agian]

Is it his mitral or pulmonary valve that needs fixing? They can repair leaky mitral valves with key hole surgery involving a robot now.

 

[Northernlights]

When my husband was in hospital a few years ago there was a chap having a mitral valve repair and he recovered pretty quickly. Repairs are better long- term than replacement but it is technically more skilful so you want a surgeon who specialises in this ( as you do indeed with the Ross procedure). Some surgeons have a nearly 100% repair rate for leaky valves. With replacements the mechanical/ tissue choices are much as with an aortic valve. Replacements can also be done percutaneously but only I think for those who aren't surgical candidates ( same as TAVI). Good luck to your father - I remember when my husband had a clot in his left ventricle it was stressful waiting for it to disperse: it didn't cause any problems though. I'm particularly glad to hear you are still doing well, as I am due to have a Ross next week!

 

[ottagal]

Nice to see you post, TurkeyHunter, but sorry to hear about your Dad. I am not well versed on the mitral valve, but from what I have heard and read many individuals are candidates for a repair with a surgeon who specializes in this.
Wishing your dad all the best and glad that you are doing well!

 

[dornole]

I'm in the waiting room for mitral and have read up some, and what stands out to me in trying for a repair is theadvice to really get a very clear idea of what is wrong with the valve and find a surgeon who is a specialist in doing that specific repair, it seems like there are very specific niches. The mitral is more complex than the aortic in its structure, maybe that's why.

I was lucky to get a valvuloplasty (balloon similar to an angioplasty, no OHS!!) for mitral stenosis the first time, but that is not an option for regurgitation unfortunately. So I hope you'll keep posting as it would be helpful to hear what you find out about repair I wish your dad all the best with his next few weeks waiting and with going forward after that.

Again and Northernlights, do you have any knowledge of which surgeons or clinics that have these high repair rates for mitral valves? My cardiologist sorta said "well you'll need a replacement next time." BUT he is an interventional cardiologist not a surgeon - clearly HE can't do another balloon, but that doesn't mean a surgeon couldn't do a surgical repair . . . thanks for any leads. I feel like I should start getting familiar with who has this expertise. Hope I'm not jumping your thread, Turkey Hunter, but I'm guessing you'd like to know too.

 

[Agian]

Hi Dornole. I'm in Australia, so I couldn't recommend a facility close to you. They can do key hole surgery for mitral valve repairs, using a da Vinci robot. It's pretty mainstream now. This is still performed by surgeons. Look up 'da Vinci surgery', there's heaps of information online. Hope this is an option for you.

 

[Turkey Hunter]

Thank you all for your responses......I will be doing research to help out if and when the time comes....just needed a jump start!!
I am sure my dad appreciates all the well wishes as well!!!

 

[Northernlights]

Hi Dornole , I'm in the UK, I'm afraid, so I don't know about the USA either. But I see the Cleveland clinic says on its website that it has the most experience in the world with mitral repair, and a nearly 100 % repair rate, robot surgery etc etc. I agree it's a good thing to do your research early so you have a plan before anything gets urgent. I didn't do this and though I am very happy with my choice, making decisions in a rush all got rather stressful!

 

[dornole]

Thanks - that was helpful to know the name of the robotic procedure. I live about an hour and half from the "world-famous Mayo Clinic" in Rochester MN (a little tongue in cheek, but well it is world famous) and this is one place where it is done in additional to Cleveland Clinic. I think I'll post asking for advice on identifying surgeon candidates to meet with, what kind of info on repair / success rates is available online, etc. Good luck with your dad when the time comes.