surgery time

[scuba_898]

Well I have one surgery date set. I still have one more surgeon to see yet for his opinion.

I have a surgery set for Oct 22 with Dr. Alan Wolfe at st. josephs in Atlanta. he thinks that a carbomedic valve will be the best choice. he will also be replacing my aorta, not just the root but the whole thing. recent tests show that the valve is a true bicuspid, is leaking badly, and that my aorta is uniformly mildly enlarged.

This tuesday i meet with another surgeon Dr. Chen out of Emory university. I have not met him yet but have heard many good things about him. I will probably set a date with him too and later decide who to go with ultimately but at least the date will be set and will not have to wait any longer. this anxiety is rough.

I am hoping that Chen will say that he would recommend using the on-x as it is my preference. Wolfe said that he does not like using it when replacing the aorta because of few reasons that he explained to me, which i can explain later in another post if yall want, i am just trying to keep this post a lil shorter for now.

I have spent a lot time researching the different valves and know a lot about the st. jude and the on-x, but not a whole lot about the carbomedic valves. I tried using the internet yesterday on the subject and found it still hard to learn stuff about the carbomedic. could some of you post links or information about the carbomedic valve? I have seen that some of you do have the carbomedic valve, although it looks like a majority of you have the st. jude, on-x or tissue.

thanks for the help

 

[Lynlw]

I don't have much info on that valve, but wanted to be clear about what they were doing. When you say they will be replacing the whole thing, do you mean the ascending and the entire arch and descending? I know they replace the arch sometimes, but it is pretty tough with all the arteries that go off it ect. Does he have alot of experience replacing the entire thoriacic aorta? (I'm assuming it is just the thoriacic part/not the abdominal)

 

[scuba_898]

the surgeon (Wolfe) called me personally yesterday and we discussed the game plan. when i asked him about replacing or working on my aorta specifically and if he would replace the root or the whole thing, he responded back as the whole thing. so to answer your question all i know is the whole thing. like you i am pretty sure the whole thing does not include the abdominal portion. I actually just found out about the abdominal part 5 minutes ago when researching on the internet, I had no idea that the aorta extended into the abdominal area.

I also asked him about experience and associated risks that the procedure would have. he said there is no further risk in having this done as long as the surgeon performing it is competent and experienced / performs them on a regular basis. he said he was such a surgeon. he did say that there is added minimal risk associated with having to be on the heart lung machine for longer period of time.

I am seeing Chen on Tuesday to get his take on this too. My understanding of him is that he may be more of an aorta specialist. he is associated with Emory University not the Hospital. But when i spoke to his nurse to schedule, he is only available on Tuesdays as he in surgery all the other days and typically performs 3-4 surgeries a day, her own words. I don't know how it is possible to perform that many on daily basis, but OK.

hope that cleared up your question.

 

[Lynlw]

3-4 surgeries a day is pretty common for many of the leading surgeons. Many of the times another doctor (Fellow/resident) does the opening and closing and the main surgeon just does the actually repairs. I was just confused because some people say replacing the ascending part (in addition to the valve and root) is the "whole thing" and from what I know replaing the entire thoriacic aorta is a pretty long, complex surgery. CCF has some pretty good info/diagrams about complex aorta surgery and what it involves. http://my.clevelandclinic.org/heart/disorders/aorta_marfan/complexaortasurgery.aspx

 

[ottagal]

Scuba_989,
Sorry I don't have an answer to your questions, but want you to know that I am glad that you got your date! I'll be right behind you by 5 days.

Wishing you all the best,

 

[Eva]

Scuba_898,

I am sorry I do not have answers, but I want to wish you good luck in your research and finding a surgeon you like, and finding answers to your questions.

I have put you on the Calendar for the 22nd. Good luck.