netmiff
Well-known member
booties?? don't you mean "wellies"???
Waiting for a date on the "Wet Coast"
- Thread starter Cameron
- Start date
Help Support Valve Replacement Forums:
Oops 
- I just realised I said my valve was down to 0.6mm when I obviously meant 0.6cm - I don't think I would be typing much with only 0.6mm left!
The "booties" reference was to the movie Groundhog Day - kind of how I feel sometimes while in this limbo between diagnosis and surgery!
- I just realised I said my valve was down to 0.6mm when I obviously meant 0.6cm - I don't think I would be typing much with only 0.6mm left!The "booties" reference was to the movie Groundhog Day - kind of how I feel sometimes while in this limbo between diagnosis and surgery
!
geckley
Well-known member
I guess our members in Minnesota and Michigan are our first line of defense. It looks like the Cannucks are organizing!!!! Welcome aboard Cameron. I wish I had your outlook on the picture. You keep that attitude and you'll fly through this stuff like it were just a little bump in the road. Hope all goes well with you.
We understood the .6cm and I hope you are being very careful. That is VERY small.
Look at a ruler and check out the diff between 6mm and an average normal valve size of 23mm.
Look at a ruler and check out the diff between 6mm and an average normal valve size of 23mm.
Waiting on the Wet Coast - Met my surgeon today!
Waiting on the Wet Coast - Met my surgeon today!
I had my first meeting with my surgeon today, Dr. Hilton Ling of the St. Paul's Hospital heart team. He was recommended to me by a good friend who used to be an OR nurse on the heart team at St. Paul's and had scrubbed with Dr. Ling on numerous occasions. Very nice guy with good "bedside" manner and a wry sense of humour that helped break the ice. St. Paul's is one of the best cardio hospitals in Canada and has a research centre that has done a number of "firsts" in the field, so I am very confidant that they will do a fine job on such an "open and shut case" as mine - bad pun!
Dr. Ling basically confirmed everything that I had already read on the web and on this forum, which was comforting. As both my parents lived to be 79 and my Grannies to 84 and 85 before them, we both agreed that a mechanical valve replacement is probably the best from a longevity standpoint. They use three different valves in St. Pauls, one is the On-X, another the Carpentier-Edwards - can't recall the last one, but they all look much the same. (If anyone has any info on pros and cons of a particular manufacturer it would be appreciated). Again, having him say the valve types and already having seen the names and had that information from the forum was positive reinforcement.
For some reason I have never been worried about the Warfarin regime and, again, Dr. Ling confirmed what Ross has been saying - live your life and work the Warfarin around your lifestyle and not the other way. Don't focus on the very unlikely possibility of bleeding out - if your injuries are that bad you would be in trouble Warfarin or not! He also mentioned that home testing is possible and available - not yet covered under our Provincial Heath Care but he recommended it as a way to have better control. I also just found this article (I used Google and the search string Home INR Monitoring)
http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNe...ulation_monitoring_071115/20071120?hub=Health
that indicates that people doing home testing have lower % of problems, the reson still as yet undetermined.
""Wells analyzed the results of 16 previous studies of home-based INR testing and found that the patients had fewer blood clots, fewer strokes and heart attacks -- and fewer deaths. the results are published in the Canadian medical journal, Open Medicine.""
I understand the machines, that are like blood monitors for diabetis, cost CAD$800-900. I definitely will be investing in one.
All in all I think both my wife and I were very pleased with our visit to Dr. Ling and the confidence that we got from him that we were on the right track. Now we have to have the surgery scheduled, which will probably be in the early new year. The next step will be when I am called in for a pre-surgery class in which they go over the entire process and show movies of the OR, ICU and recovery etc. to help you understand exactly what will happen. About a week after that I will be called in for the surgery.
Dr. Ling advised us that my actual surgery would only last a couple of hours, about 4 hours until I wake up, then 1-2 days in ICU then another 5-7 in recovery. By the end of the hospital stay I will be mobile and able to do ligh dusting but no vacuuming!
In all of this experience to date I have to admire those of you in the US who have the additional worry about insurance coverage etc. Whatever you think about the Health Service in Canada, it definitely removes a major source of stress knowing that there will be no financial burden due to the bad luck of having drawn a dicky valve!
Waiting on the Wet Coast - Met my surgeon today!
I had my first meeting with my surgeon today, Dr. Hilton Ling of the St. Paul's Hospital heart team. He was recommended to me by a good friend who used to be an OR nurse on the heart team at St. Paul's and had scrubbed with Dr. Ling on numerous occasions. Very nice guy with good "bedside" manner and a wry sense of humour that helped break the ice. St. Paul's is one of the best cardio hospitals in Canada and has a research centre that has done a number of "firsts" in the field, so I am very confidant that they will do a fine job on such an "open and shut case" as mine - bad pun
! Dr. Ling basically confirmed everything that I had already read on the web and on this forum, which was comforting. As both my parents lived to be 79 and my Grannies to 84 and 85 before them, we both agreed that a mechanical valve replacement is probably the best from a longevity standpoint. They use three different valves in St. Pauls, one is the On-X, another the Carpentier-Edwards - can't recall the last one, but they all look much the same. (If anyone has any info on pros and cons of a particular manufacturer it would be appreciated). Again, having him say the valve types and already having seen the names and had that information from the forum was positive reinforcement
. For some reason I have never been worried about the Warfarin regime and, again, Dr. Ling confirmed what Ross has been saying - live your life and work the Warfarin around your lifestyle and not the other way. Don't focus on the very unlikely possibility of bleeding out - if your injuries are that bad you would be in trouble Warfarin or not! He also mentioned that home testing is possible and available - not yet covered under our Provincial Heath Care but he recommended it as a way to have better control. I also just found this article (I used Google and the search string Home INR Monitoring)
http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNe...ulation_monitoring_071115/20071120?hub=Health
that indicates that people doing home testing have lower % of problems, the reson still as yet undetermined.
""Wells analyzed the results of 16 previous studies of home-based INR testing and found that the patients had fewer blood clots, fewer strokes and heart attacks -- and fewer deaths. the results are published in the Canadian medical journal, Open Medicine.""
I understand the machines, that are like blood monitors for diabetis, cost CAD$800-900. I definitely will be investing in one.
All in all I think both my wife and I were very pleased with our visit to Dr. Ling and the confidence that we got from him that we were on the right track. Now we have to have the surgery scheduled, which will probably be in the early new year. The next step will be when I am called in for a pre-surgery class in which they go over the entire process and show movies of the OR, ICU and recovery etc. to help you understand exactly what will happen. About a week after that I will be called in for the surgery.
Dr. Ling advised us that my actual surgery would only last a couple of hours, about 4 hours until I wake up, then 1-2 days in ICU then another 5-7 in recovery. By the end of the hospital stay I will be mobile and able to do ligh dusting but no vacuuming
!In all of this experience to date I have to admire those of you in the US who have the additional worry about insurance coverage etc. Whatever you think about the Health Service in Canada, it definitely removes a major source of stress knowing that there will be no financial burden due to the bad luck of having drawn a dicky valve!
P
Phyllis
So glad you have your surgeon and are happy with his credentials. Be sure to let us know the date once you have it so we can make it "official" on the calendar.
D
Dawn-Marie
Hi Cameron ~ Sorry i'm late, but i wanted to extend a warm welcome to this group and extend my best wishes and prayers to you. You have found a wonderful group of people at this site. They have supported me through all the problems i have had...they are the best! I'm glad you found an excellent doctor who you like. Dawn-Marie
