Talked to my surgeon for first time yesterday

[cewilk]

I am 24 yrs old. I have BAV, aortic aneurysm, low EF, and an enlarged left ventricle. I have decided I am going with the mechanical. I will also have to be discharged medically from the Marine Corps, which I am very upset about, however I just do not want to have to redo this surgery a few years down the road. I will be going to the East Carolina Heart Institute and Dr. Anderson is the surgeon. I will know a surgery date as of next Tuesday, 19 June.

 

[escargome]

Oh darn, I was so hoping the military would take a more advanced view on your heart issues. I am sorry to hear they will discharge you. I wish you well on your journey to a mended heart. You will find that there will be few things you won't be able to do. Please do keep us posted.

 

[Roberta]

Sorry to hear about the discharge. Sending you tons of positive thoughts and well wishes with your upcoming surgery!
There is a saying....'when one door closes, another one will open'.
Hang in there....
Yes, please keep us posted.

 

[Bina]

Having surgery at such a young age can be a good thing; recovery is usually fast and long lasting.

 

[TheGymGuy]

Having surgery at such a young age can be a good thing; recovery is usually fast and long lasting.

Bina said it pretty well. You are probably in tip-top shape and your recovery should go great. Being medically discharged really sucks, but there are other things in life. When I was going to my surgery one of my fears was that I would not be able to powerlift and exercise daily, but here we are 11 weeks later and we are almost back to the regular routine.

Hope all goes well for you.

 

[Sarah_Louise]

Good luck for Tuesday!
Hope everything goes well, will be thinking of you xxx

 

[spartangator]

All the best for your visit on Tuesday. Very sorry to hear about the discharge situation but will be just as excited to hear about your excellent recovery and whatever future path you pick to create success.

 

[cewilk]

Thanks for the encouraging responses, everyone. I did find out some good news today. I met with my surgeon this morning, and over the past week at their board meetings he said they had been discussing my case pretty heavily with other surgeons, one of which specializes in the Ross procedure. As mentioned earlier, I would be discharged from my job because of Coumadin, and my plan B in civilian life is law enforcement, which also could be a problem with Coumadin. With that taken into consideration, the surgeon who performs the Ross said that I was a good candidate and that I could go that route if I so choose. Of course the mechanical is a potential "one and done" lifelong solution, and I'm not so much worried about the Coumadin lifestyle anymore, I just don't want to have to get out of the Marines this early in my career, especially when my backup plan could flop on me as well because of coumadin.

What do y'all think? I was definitely excited to hear that I could go with the Ross...

 

[Bryan B]

cewilk,

I had a Ross procedure done at Duke Medical Center in 2004. I ended up with an ascending aortic aneurysm so I had to have my autograft valve, aortic root, and ascending aorta replaced. But I got 7 years out of it and was asymptomatic for all 7 years. At your age you may not get more than that with a tissue valve anyway. For many people a Ross Procedure can last as long as a mechanical valve (i.e. indefinitely). A couple of things to consider. First is that you will be a double valve patient the rest of your life, although during my second surgery my surgeon left my homograft pulmonary valve in place and said it looked excellent. The other is who your surgeon will be to do the Ross. I would only let a surgeon perform the Ross Procedure if he has A LOT of experience.

Do you know where you would have the Ross Procedure done and which surgeon will do it? I live about an hour away from you and did a lot of research on the the RP and our area before I had my surgery. There is a really good surgeon at Wake Forest Baptist Hospital by the name of Dr. Neal Kon that does the Ross Procedure. I also think Dr. Randolph Chitwood at Vidant Medical Center (formerly Pitt Memorial ECU in Greenville). I also think Dr. Jake Jaquiss performs the Ross Procedure at Duke Medical Center. Dr. James Jaggers did mine but he is now at Denver Children's Hospital.

 

[cewilk]

The surgeon would be Dr. Theodore C. Koutlas at East Carolina Heart Institute in Greenville. Dr. Chitwood is here at ECU as well.

 

[Bryan B]

Good luck cewilk with whatever decision you and your surgeons make. ECU has a very good heart center so you should be in excellent hands.