Scheduled for BAV & aneurysm surgery in 2 weeks

mxtexas · Oct 24, 2014

Hello all,

I (45 year old male-good health) am scheduled to go into surgery on Monday, November 10th at St. Josephs/Emory in Atlanta. My surgeon will be Dr. Edward Chen.
I have a true BAV with moderate-sever aortic regurgitation along with an aortic aneurysm of 4.9 (both root and ascending). He will be performing the David procedure and attempt to repair my leaky valve at the same time he replaces my aneurysm with some sort of dacron graft. Apparently the durability stats of such repairs are around 94% at 10yrs and 90% at 20yrs. As it stands now, he has given me a 90%+ chance for repair. If the repair is deemed inappropriate at time of surgery, I plan to have a tissue valve (perhaps bovine), as I understand that they provide some cases of sustained durability, as well.

I suppose that either way, I will probably look at a re-operation at some point in my future, but hopefully by then, the TAVR techniques will be further refined and perhaps my future surgery would be less invasive. I'm probably looking too far into the future anyway. My focus is on these next 2 weeks, for sure

This board has been tremendously valuable to me as I have attempted to educate myself as much as possible.

Thanks again for all of your input. I look forward to sharing my experiences with all of the individuals yet to come.

mxtexas

ottagal · Oct 24, 2014

Hi mxtexas,

Welcome to the forum! It sounds like you are well-prepared and will be in 'good hands'. Wishing you all the very best with your upcoming surgery.
Keep us posted.

Garserin · Oct 25, 2014

Hello mxtexas, I had a David procedure about 3 years ago and I am very happy with the outcome. Even though I still have a little leak, I do not expect another surgery. When you look at the stats, chances are pretty good that this is a permenent fix and you shouldn't automatically expect another one.
Best wishes and good luck on Nov. 10.

P.S. I should mention that I have a tri-cuspid aortic valve, had severe regurgitation, and my root and ascending aorta were massively enlarged at 6 cm.

Dan Zulu · Oct 28, 2014

Hi, I had a David procedure two months ago, and fortunately recovery has been far smoother than expected. Feel free to ask questions

AZ Don · Oct 29, 2014

Good luck with your surgery. I had a (BAV) valve sparing aortic aneurysm (root and ascending) done in 2013. My recovery was also easier than I expected.

Paul Schur · Nov 3, 2014

I was diagnosed with BAV w a pretty leaky valve and severe regurgitation on June 1 and had it replaced on June 25. Also had and aortic aneurysm repaired as well. I went to Johns Hopkins. That was just over 4 months ago. I'm 52, in very good health, and all went and recovery went without incident. It all was much easier than I thought it would be. Everyone is different. I felt pretty much okay when I was diagnosed, but my energy level is so much better now. Be patient, and kind to yourself at first, and you'll do well. Good luck!