Upcoming Surgery-Synergraft Valve Replacement

[chastecl]

My husband and I found this forum last night and were interested to find several references to Dr. Kenton Zehr and Syngraft valve replacement surgery.

My husband, a 55 year old, with severe aortic stenosis recently chose to schedule surgery choosing a synergraft replacement aortic valve 3/27/03 at Mayo with Dr. Zehr as the surgeon. This was his choice after much internet research, an office consultation with Dr. Zehr, and phone/email follow-up questions and answers. We live in Eau Claire, WI, so we really aren't too geographically far away from Mayo when it comes to follow-up.

Any input on what we should expect, or questions that we may have forgotten to ask, would be very much appreciated. After nearly 6 years since initial diagnosis spent waiting for technology to advance, we're hoping this will be the best long term answer. Although, my husband is still for the most part asymptomatic (or so he claims), he?s been advised by both his cardiologist here in Eau Claire and Dr. Zehr, that the surgery should be done within a few months. Courmadin and a mechanical heart valve is not an option with my husband?s active life style.

Any wisdom gained through your own experiences that your are willing to share with us would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,

Jerry & Carol Chasteen
Eau Claire, WI

 

[Nancy]

Hi folks-

Welcome to this fantastic site. There are several members here with the Synergraft valve, and I'm sure they will come along soon.

My husband is the patient here and has had 3 valve surgeries. He's 71 years old. He has two mechanicals and had to have a small leak repaired in his mitral.

We'll all be here for you during this time of pre-surgery and then post-surgery. You will enjoy the friendships you find here.

I hope you will come here often and ask lots of questions.

 

[John Cochran]

A big welcome to you, Jerry and Carol!

You'll notice the very first response to your first posting was from Nancy, who has an incredible amount of experience in heart/health issues with her husband Joe...and she is one of the most wonderful people you'll ever know!

You'll find shortly that you'll get a number of responses from our other "long-timers" here as well as newer members. The common denominator is that everyone has been through valve surgery in their families. Some of us have been through this with more than one family member (my son had valve surgery in 2001). There are a handful of us (Jennie, BrooksM, JJGo, SWieland and myself) who have SynerGraft valves in the aortic position. However, the surgical experience itself is very similar, regardless of valve selection, and the folks here can answer pretty much any question you might have.

We know that this pre-surgery waiting time is very difficult, but both of you will find that talking about it with others who've "been there/done that" will help reduce the stress quite a bit. Ask any questions you want, and you're sure to get a lot of answers and a good range of opinions.

Dr. Zehr gets great grades from his SynerGraft patients, and you can rest assured that you are in wonderful hands, both with Dr. Zehr and with the Mayo staff.

Best,
--John

 

[BrooksM]

Synergraft success story

Synergraft success story

Hello Jerry & Carol,
As my buddy John mentioned I am also a synergraft recipient. My story is not nearly is interesting as his, however. Dr. Zehr performed my AVR and root replacement last May, he was fantastic, very professional and competent. Also he did not seem to have any sort of agenda in pushing the Synergraft technology, I found him (with some help from John) and suggested it. I was 30 at the time of surgery and very healthy and had a very quick and complete recovery.
The staff at Mayo is amazing, very knowledgeable and available. Good luck, I hope you have uneventful surgery and quick recovery. Be sure to walk, walk, walk, every time I woke up even in the middle of the night I would walk laps around the floor - it really helped.

Keep us posted

Brooks McIntyre
Synergraft AVR 05/23/2002
Dr. Zehr Mayo Clinic

 

[chastecl]

Hi Brooks,

It?s great to find some ?real people? who are SynerGraft valve recipients and learn from all of your experiences. It sure seems to be an exclusive club with a very limited membership! We?ve been corresponding with Jennie Harris and John Cochran by email and their responses to our questions have been immensely helpful. We?ve also had an opportunity to read most of your postings by now too. Your ?quick and complete recovery comment? is, of course, just what we want to hear. Dr. Zehr has a growing fan club! We found him to be the most confident man we have ever met. He wears what Jerry calls the ?Mayo Mystique? very comfortably and made us feel all will be well.

Hi also to Nancy,

Thank you for your very warm welcome to this site. I can?t believe we never happened upon it before!

Jerry wishes the surgery was ?just done and over with?. He?s getting pretty nervous, and so am I. We?ve possibly spent far too much time second guessing the SynerGraft valve choice and dwelling on surgical risks and possible complications. As some of you have found, some times you just have to make a choice, take a leap of faith, and go for it.

We?ll keep you all posted,

Carol & Jerry Chasteen
__________________
Jerry Chasteen
Aortic Stenosis
Synergraft AVR - Dr. Zehr, Mayo Clinic ? scheduled for 3/27/03

 

[John Cochran]

Leaps of Faith

Leaps of Faith

Brooks' surgery may have been less "interesting" than mine, but visiting him in the hospital after his surgery gave me a huge dose of confidence! If you ever need someone who can still spit nails after facing down a Mac truck, Brooks is your guy!

Literally putting your life and health in the hands of people who are strangers is indeed a giant leap of faith, not to mention opting for relatively new technology. For someone like me, who is definitely an alpha male (translation = control freak), it was like running high hurdles in a snow storm to be able to let go and trust with any degree of comfort.

This turned out to be a life-changing experience in that regard. So many wonderful caring people I barely knew, if at all, went out of their way to get me through this. Even after the surgery, members of the surgical staff were stopping by my room to see how I was doing.

I discovered through my own surgeon, Dr. Michael King, and my son's surgeon, Dr. Northrup, that cardiac surgeons are a very special breed. Like Dr. Zehr, these folks are supremely confident. Not the false arrogant kind of confidence one often sees from politicians, but something very visceral. I suspect that having the skills, knowledge and education to stop a human heart, repair it, and restart it are experiences unlike anything else in the human behavioral domain. Having gotten through all of this heart surgery stuff, and now being in great shape again, I've noticed something really interesting when I've had appointments with Dr. King: The minute he walks in the door, smiles and shakes my hand, I find myself instantly calm, relaxed and happy--and I'm a person who hates going to the doctor for anything! In hindsight, though, I think Mayo may have been a better choice in general for the SynerGraft valve, since they have a bank of them on hand. If there is a perceived prolem with one--they have others right there. Actually, I have a Mayo valve in me, which the CryoLife representative borrowed to be my "back-up valve" (which I had insisted upon, luckily). I do know that Dr. Zehr carefully inspects each valve personally before implantation.

I have corresponded many times with Dr. Zehr, and have referred potential SynerGraft patients to him. I don't know how you could have made a better choice!

As far as the nervousness before surgery, let me repeat what Jennie told me, since it really works. Forget about trying to deal with the "whole thing" all at once...just take each small piece, each day, one at a time and focus on that. Before you know it, you've been released from the hospital! I also found it helpful to focus on things I'd be able to do once I'd recovered, like jogging, swimming, playing a strenuous game of tennis, etc.

Take care, find some fun things to do together while you're waiting, and know that putting your trust in Dr. Zehr and Mayo will work out great!

Best,
--John
P.S. I went to my own primary care doc yesterday, and I'm now 100 percent drug free! A daily aspirin at dinner is it!

 

[Jennie]

Hi Jerry and Carol!

I just thought I'd pop in and wish you well this week. I'm praying all will be smooth sailing, less fearsome than you imagine, and over before you know it! You are in great hands. Recovery won't be the easiest time, but after this week, all the anxiety and questioning will be a thing of the past, and life will be good again. Personally, I'm excited that you're going for the SynerGraft, and I hope it brings many years of good health your way.

Please keep us posted, when you get a chance!

God bless!!
Jennie

 

[Marie]

Hello .... I am 53 years old and have a bicuspid aortic valve. I have been advised by my cadiologist and heart surgeon that they believe the best choice of valves for me is the homograft valve. I am interested in the cryolife synergraft you are talking about. How is this different than a homograft?

I have been having echocardiograms for about 8 years now and it is time to have my valve replaced. Although I knew it was comng, I still am not looking forward to it.

I have been reading on this site for some time and just now decided to register and participate.

 

[Marie]

Re: Synergraft success story

Re: Synergraft success story

Hello Jerry & Carol,
As my buddy John mentioned I am also a synergraft recipient. My story is not nearly is interesting as his, however. Dr. Zehr performed my AVR and root replacement last May, he was fantastic, very professional and competent. Also he did not seem to have any sort of agenda in pushing the Synergraft technology, I found him (with some help from John) and suggested it. I was 30 at the time of surgery and very healthy and had a very quick and complete recovery.
The staff at Mayo is amazing, very knowledgeable and available. Good luck, I hope you have uneventful surgery and quick recovery. Be sure to walk, walk, walk, every time I woke up even in the middle of the night I would walk laps around the floor - it really helped.

Keep us posted

Brooks McIntyre
Synergraft AVR 05/23/2002
Dr. Zehr Mayo Clinic

 

[John Cochran]

Marie,
I just noticed you are in Minnesota...so am I, as is JJGo, who also has a SynerGraft homograft valve. Neither of us take any drugs at all for our hearts (except for a daily baby aspirin). I am back to running and weights, and other than my scar, I can't believe I had heart surgery.

I can give you a really thorough briefing on this technology, as well as the contact names and phone numbers at Mayo, but I'd prefer to do that through e-mail. If you are interested, drop me a note at:
[email protected]

Best,
--John
P.S. You and I are the same age almost...I turn 53 in May.

 

[chastecl]

Marie,

I just posted a reply to you in the Valve Selection area of the forum.

We would urge you to contact John Cochran by email, he has done extensive research on SynerGraft technology which he shared with us when Jerry was finalizing his decision on valve choice.

You are also welcome to email us [email protected]

Best wishes,

 

[EVELYN]

Hi Jerry and Carol

WELCOME to a wonderful site!!! I know you will love it here at vr.com as much as we do. I'm Evelyn whose husband, Tyce had AVR this past June and who chose a mechanical St. Jude's valve. We're from Long Island and Tyce had his surgery done at St. Francis Heart Center in Roslyn......the best thing he ever did!!!

So glad you are here, it's a wonderful place with lots and lots of knowledgeable people. If they don't have an answer for you, guaranteed they will find it!!! I visit and chat every day. Everyone here has become our support group. I know I couldn't have made it through Tyce's surgery without this wonderful team.

I would have to agree, the worst part is the waiting!!! One of the most important lessons I learned is that it is something you have NO control over.....it's almost as though it consumes your life, so you just have to make the very best decisions you can, do all you can do to get ready and then let it go to your higher power. I remember saying that I wanted it fixed NOW, but now was two weeks away from our surgeon's consult....I think they were the hardest two weeks of our lives. Post surgery was easy in comparison!!! I knew he was ok, healing, and getting better every day. If nothing else, you will learn patience, have faith, and realize that you really are NOT in control....a hard concept for many to grasp.

I wish you well with your surgery. I will put you both in my prayers. If you don't hear from me, we're on the road for a two- week vacation beginning Wednesday, but know you will be in my prayers.

So glad you've found this site!!

Evelyn

 

[srwieland]

Hi Jerry & Carol,

Welcome to the greatest bunch of heart buddies in the whole world!

I haven't been on this site much lately (been spending all my time following the war stuff), but was glad to see today that discussion on this site about things like valve choice are alive and well.

I was the first on this site to get a SynerGraft valve, almost 2 years ago, but am not the best example for it. I did absolutely great (or, at least I though I did) for 8 months post-op, then went through about 6 months of hell and almost had to undergo resurgery, and then have recuperated since and am doing OK at present, with some minor problematic symptoms of mild to moderate leakage.

I am probably the only SynerGraft recipient on this site to receive a pulmonary SynerGraft in the aortic position, since the aortic version was not yet available at the time.

CryoLife has come under some scrutiny in the last year or so by the FDA for problems with its tissue products in general, so that is something to consider. However, I hope that this has been or will be resolved so that their SynerGraft products, which represent a fantastic scientific breakthrough that promises much longer lasting tissue valves, can be assured as reliable and not result in problems such as mine or others that have been reported in the media.

My best wishes to you as you approach the mountain of valve replacement. Take heart that many others like you now reside on the other side of that mountain and have not only survived, but are indeed thriving with their improved heart function.

 

[chastecl]

Steve,

Good to hear from you! Since you haven't been checking the forum for a while, I thought I'd let you know that Jerry made it to other side of that mountain after having his SynerGraft replacement surgery on 3/27/03 (see the Post-Surgery area) and has been home for 2 weeks now. His recovery has thankfully been uneventful so far.

Jerry's 2 week appointment yesterday, with his local cadio, went very well and he's not having any complications. Although, John Cochran filled us in on CryoLife and their recent problems with the FDA, Jerry still chose to go with the SynerGraft as the best option.

 

[srwieland]

Welcome to this side of the mountain, Jerry and Carol, and to the 'exclusive' SynerGraft Club of daring heart buddies!

I know why you chose the SynerGraft---it holds a lot of promise. This wonderful website has helped us all to make much more informed decisions and also helped us to understand and cope better whatever comes our way.

You have my prayers for Jerry's continued uneventful recovery.