I found out in the middle of August that the time has come to have my BAV replaced as well as my Aorta. I was diagnosed with BAV when i was 5 or 6 years old and they thought I would likely need surgery in my late teens or early 20's. 33 years later and it is now time. The gradient has reached the magic number and my aneurysm is at 50mm so that will be replaced as well. I will be traveling to Mayo Clinic in Rochester MN from the Upper Peninsula of Michigan for my surgery which will be in mid November. I found this site about a month ago and I have found a lot of useful information. I have questions about recovery and life after surgery which I will address in separate threads. In the meantime, I am going to work as little as possible and hunt as much as possible. I have 3 bird dogs and chase grouse and woodcock all fall so I am glad I don't have to have the surgery immediately.
The Date is Set!
- Thread starter Estrazz
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Greetings @Estrazz
Fantastic to hear you have a date. Have heard lots of good things about the Mayo from members here down the years. You’ll be in excellent hands there for sure.
Sending a big best to you for the days ahead and will be looking forward to reading your updates as things progress. Have fun with your dogs.
Fantastic to hear you have a date. Have heard lots of good things about the Mayo from members here down the years. You’ll be in excellent hands there for sure.
Sending a big best to you for the days ahead and will be looking forward to reading your updates as things progress. Have fun with your dogs.
@Estrazz There are numerous threads here about recovery, a few long ones. I posted some details about my experience 2.5 years ago. the short is, if you are in decent health and follow their directions you will be fine. I am assuming based on the age you are inferring you are going mechanical. Best advice as soon as you can get up and walk start walking, do so. I did laps around the recovery wing every day at a nice slow walk probably one the second day. I would try and walk at east twice a day. Using wife's iWatch we after a few days figured I was walking at least 1+ miles. Once I was home I had a treadmill in the basement and tried to get 1-2 miles 1-2x a day. Very slow pace is fine, nothing pushing it.
looks like you're having similar surgery to me
i also had a v long lead up time to the operation
known about my BAV since i was 9
was told i needed surgery to replace the BAV and aneurysm since 2011 (was told it would be done within 5 years at the time)
you'll be fine
i also had a v long lead up time to the operation
known about my BAV since i was 9
was told i needed surgery to replace the BAV and aneurysm since 2011 (was told it would be done within 5 years at the time)
you'll be fine
Welcome to the site. This forum will help you separate the wheat from the chaff. Depending on your surgery it might take a few months before you can absorb the "kick" of a shotgun but you will be "good to go" for the 2022 season
Geofd
Well-known member
I was going to ask that question, I'm heading into mass general hospital Monday morning for mitral valve repair surgery , wasn't sure how quickly I'd be able to walk around or use the tread mill our treadmill is great just a walking treadmill hope to use it's as soon as possible
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Welcome to the forum Estrazz. This forum was such a great help to me leading up to my surgery and in recovery and I’m sure it will be for you too.
It is never fun to be told it’s time for surgery. At the same time, I’m glad that it was diagnosed early which allowed your medical team to track you and that you are now able to get your procedure before any long-term damage.
You’re getting the same procedure that I had 6 months ago, which is sometimes called a Bentall Procedure. There is some good news regarding this, in that you will almost certainly not need to have a reoperation in the future to repair an aortic aneurism. There was a study done that found that those who had the Bentall Procedure had a completely normal life expectancy, so this is other good news for us. If you’re interested in reading the study here it is: Long-term survival after the Bentall procedure in 206 patients with bicuspid aortic valve - PubMed
If I were to recommend one thing prior to surgery and in recovery it is to do lots of exercise, assuming you have the green light from your cardiologist to do so. Try to go into surgery in the best physical condition that you can. Even if it is just walking, do a lot of it. So, that is one reason why it is great that you plan to do a lot of hunting prior to your operation because hunting generally involves miles of walking. And in recovery I would say the same- walk as much as you can. Going into the surgery young and in good condition you will do just fine.
Best of luck with your operation and please keep us posted.
It is never fun to be told it’s time for surgery. At the same time, I’m glad that it was diagnosed early which allowed your medical team to track you and that you are now able to get your procedure before any long-term damage.
You’re getting the same procedure that I had 6 months ago, which is sometimes called a Bentall Procedure. There is some good news regarding this, in that you will almost certainly not need to have a reoperation in the future to repair an aortic aneurism. There was a study done that found that those who had the Bentall Procedure had a completely normal life expectancy, so this is other good news for us. If you’re interested in reading the study here it is: Long-term survival after the Bentall procedure in 206 patients with bicuspid aortic valve - PubMed
If I were to recommend one thing prior to surgery and in recovery it is to do lots of exercise, assuming you have the green light from your cardiologist to do so. Try to go into surgery in the best physical condition that you can. Even if it is just walking, do a lot of it. So, that is one reason why it is great that you plan to do a lot of hunting prior to your operation because hunting generally involves miles of walking. And in recovery I would say the same- walk as much as you can. Going into the surgery young and in good condition you will do just fine.
Best of luck with your operation and please keep us posted.
bizinsider
Well-known member
+1 what Chuck said. I'm 69. I had the same surgery Chuck had, except with a bio valve, in March 2020..and a CABG x1. I live in California and we are now in France on a river cruise - our first trip since pre-Covid (and post-Cleveland ;-) ) You're going to one of the top heart hospitals in the world. If you are in decent shape you'll be fine. You will have had more fun in your life than you will have the first few days post-surgery but the "bad" stuff, if you call it that, will be a blur. As I've told anybody who will listen, if it wasn't for the scar, which is fading, I wouldn't know anything had been done. You will get on with your life. Surgery is surgery...there are risks...but my recovery (even with a complication totally unrelated to my heart) was very straight forward and relatively fast. In my head I imagined I would be an invalid for quite awhile after surgery. That couldn't have been further from the truth. You will be up and moving and walking before you know it. We're all here for your questions.
