Pig Heart Valve Longevity – How Long Do They Last?

I really debated about whether I wanted to read the answer to the question of how long a pig valve lasts. I received mine Nov. 16th, 2 months shy of my 62nd birthday. I have always known if I was fortunate to enjoy the longevity that seems to be part of my family on both sides then the chances were very good I would need another replacement in the future. I am TRULY hoping for more than 15 years but know this valve may need to be replaced again someday. I read the answer so now I have to tame my worry wart streak and enjoy the good years instead of going on an “oh no” countdown.

Dear Cheryl B:
Our son recently had double valve replacement at age 37 (you can read about it in recent posts, John Turan). The very first time anyone talked to us about surgery regarding his bicuspid aortic valve, he was 17 and it was at the Mayo Clinic. They spoke about mechanical valves. It wasn’t necessary that the valve be replaced then, but I will never forget how our son wanted to know why they couldn’t do it “right now” so he could “get on” with his busy, sporty life. He was told that every year new advances are made in medicine, some that may already be in the process of testing, and how he had his young age as an advantage, since new valves may be developed as well as new ways of replacing them. No one mentioned the Ross Procedure he finally underwent at 37, and I am not sure if it had even been developed yet.

“That said”, (to quote Adam Pick), think about this every day: Regardless of your age, some new procedure or valve may be developed or improved by the time you need a new valve again, if you should even need it, and then go on and enjoy the rest of your day!

Blessings, Mercy, mother of John.

i am 23 years old. i was born with Pulmonary artresita with an intact vacular septem. I had many surgeries but when i was 18 they implanted a “pig valve” where my pulmanary valve was. I am 23 and everything is fine. except i have put on some weight since my surgery.

sarah

I had a pig valve put in to replace my aortic valve in 1990
it is now way past its used by date but I have been told by the doctors I am in an unfortunate situation seeing I am in the public system no private health insurance this valve has been leaking for around 12 years
does anyone know how to fix our public health system?
I have been sent to have it replaced twice now but as soon as the private health question arises I am given a short shiftand sent home(I am 76 am I to old to save )lol

yes, i came across this while searching for anwsers concerning my own health, primarily my aortic pig valve. and to say the least i was shocked to read that a pig valve was rarely used on people under the age of 60. i had just turned 28 when i was informed that the medication was no longer working for my bi-cuspid aortic valve and was told that at my age, the pig valve was the best option for me BECAUSE of my age and the fact that i would still be young enough for the pig valve to be replaced by a mechanical valve. but they also told me that after the surgery i would be healthier then ever before. since then i have had endocarditious twice, a partial pericardectomy and 2 strokes. no to mention the fact that the big perc of the pig valve was no coumidin, and guess what, ill be on coumidin for the rest of my life. plus at some point in time after the valve replacement i developed HIT(heprin induced thrombosis) which means that when given heprin or any heprin agent, i develop blood clots instead of it thinning my blood out. all of this and i am only 33 now! any info that anyone can help me with would be greatly appreciated. my email is c_capien@yahoo.com my best wishes go out to you and to anyone else who has either went thru/is going thru or loves someone who is.

I am 45 years old and have a 28 year pig valve in my tricuspid valve. I was 17 when this valve was placed and was told it would last hopefully 5 years. Since then I have married, had a child, watched him graduate from college and get married. We have a new grandson. I am active in hiking, weight lifiting, biking, kayaking, swimming and scuba diving. All of this would not have been possible without the pig valve and not having to take blood thinners..
I am an anomily of sorts being that I have a tricuspid valve which was replaced due to endocartitis from another surgery. I do not have heart disease, high blood pressure, cholesterol issues or any other complications which normally contribute to heart valve replacement. Simply an infection from central line.
I am just this summer experiencing a decline in the valve, I noticed a slow onset of excercise induced fatigue. All my test results came back perfectly healthy. I just had an echo-stress test which shows increased pressure under stress due to some “hardening” of the valve. The flaps are getting stiffer due to age. I have scheduled a replacement, another pig valve, for this fall since I do not want to wait until it effects my overall quality of life.
With each passing year, I have wondered how long it would last. I finally had settled on, let’s try to make it 30 years. I could if I wanted to slow down, but why would I want to do that! I hope to have the next one 30 years or more.
Each year has been a blessing, and each coming year brings hope of newer procedures and longer placement times.
God bless everyone and keep thinking positive.

Lee,

Thanks so much for taking the time to share your pig valve story with us.

I’m glad to hear you are such an anomaly!!!

Incredible that your pig valve has lasted almost 30 years.

Please keep us updated on your upcoming heart valve replacement.

Keep on tickin’ and oinkin’!

Adam

I was born in 1965 and have tetrology of fallot. I was among the first to receive Dr. Blalock’s shunts. And I was 14 years old in 1977 when I had a pig valve replacement of my pulmonary valve. I am a lucky person. I have had this valve for 32 years. I recently named the pig who was the donor of this life-giving gift Lazarus. My wonderful doctor tells me that the valve is aging, narrowing, etc. And that he rates the valve as 7 on a scale of 0 to 10 toward surgical replacement. I will likely need a replacement surgery in the next several to 15 years, he says. I hope not, as I am very partial to Lazarus. I am grateful for his or her gift to me.

Lee… how did your surgery go?? i am also a tricuspid replacement person… i was 34 when i had mine…have epstein anomaly that they didnt find until then… they did an ASD repair when i was 14 in ’83 but they didnt know what epstein was at that time… so far so good… but am also hoping that mine will last as long as yours!!! … i am 41 so i have a ways to go..

I have had my pig valve for about 5 years (Aortic). My only problem is I am very easily fatigued. I have had every type of test known to man including treadmill
and EKG etc. I have passed every thing with flying colors. I am 68 years old.

I am also a tetralogy of fallot patient. I had my pulmonary valve replaced with a pig valve exactly 16 years ago today. At the time, they told me the pig valve was the best option because my body was still growing (I was 16) and the tissue valve would grow with me. I was told it would need to be replaced in 10-14 years. I also, unfortunatly, have no access to health insurance that is affordable to me, so I don’t see my cardiologist as often as I should. I know the valve has weakened quite a bit, and is leaking, however, on my last visit, the doctor told me that it wasn’t “panic time” yet, and they wanted to put the surgery off as long as possible so that I wasn’t having to go through as many replacement surgeries.

I really enjoy this page and would love more information. I am currently 44. I was admitted to the hospital on Jan 1st of 2008. I did not know my problem was my heart and the wonderful people at Emory University in Atlanta took care of me. I received my pig valve in the Aortic after reviewing the information with the Cardiothoracic Sugreon who told me I could have a mechanical heart or a pig valve. I chose the pig valve because I did not want to live on Cummadin the rest of my life. I was also afraid of mechanical failure. I have now been nearly 3 years with my new valve. They also replaced the Aortic Arch with synthetic tubing since my valve was very large and the arch had balloned near rupture. I would love to find some video of such a surgery and information on How will I know it is time for a new valve.
Some people I have met have only lasted 5 years with their valve and others 15. To hear that people have lived 30+ years is awesome news to me. I am currently only taking Hydralazine and Coreg on a regular basis along with Lasik and Potassium if and when I have abnormal water weight gain. After coming home from being in the hospital for over 1 month, my chest came open from a bad sneeze where I could not reach my pillow in time. I had to be flown back to the hospital. They put me back together with a few titanium plates on my sternum that will now be there for life. I had to stay an additional 6 weeks in the hospital and then come home with 6 weeks of IV antibiotics. What a boring three months of sitting in a chair all day other than walking occasionally. Since then I have gone on 3 different backpacking trips with my brother – each were 25 miles round trip. God is awesome !!!

my name is charlene my husband is going to under go a pig valve replacement on friday i understand about how long they last and all the complications that can arise and all the good stuff too he can live longer but what i dont understand is why on earth his cardioligest the one doing the surgery would tell us that most people have a 1 to 2 % chance of not surviving the operation and you sir have a 15 % chance of not surviving it why would he tell his patient that and not take me in another room or something to tell me this he is just working my husband up and making things worse . i tell him every day he will be fine and come home soon he has diabities had it since he has been 17 he also has high blood pressure a bad back and a pace maker defibulater for arythmia of the heart can someone please just reasure me things will really work out please !!!

I had the surgery going on 4 years ago now ( January 2008 )
I was only 41 at the time and other than needing the surgery, I was in relatively good health.
I have never had to worry about HBP until after the surgery. I almost did not survive.
The doctor told my wife and I the surgery would last no more than 5 hours and that I would be recovering in ICU and wake up as soon as the anesthetic wore off. I was in surgery for over 11 hours and did not wake up for 3 days as they kept me in that state for my body to begin breathing on it’s own again.
I would say that each person is different and typically bring their unique set of health issues to the operating table. I can not tell you if your doctor is right or wrong. I can not say how the news should be broken to your husband of what is going on. I do not that no one wanted me to know how serious things were but I could see it on everyone’s face. I knew it was “grave” when nearly everyone in my family came to see me at the hospital before the surgery with “made up” smiles and well wishes. It all sounds so bleak and gray about what to expect. There is encouragement for you and your husband.
I came through this as did so many others in the hospital. I met a man in his 70′s who was there recovering from his 3rd time of having the operation. That was not good news to me to think I will have to go through this about once every 10 years but then I do not know what God has in store for me tomorrow. If I am there to have the surgery again, God will be there to hold my hand all the way to heaven if that is his will.

“Trust in the Lord your God and lean not on your own understanding. And in all your ways acknowledge him and he will make straight your path” Proverbs 3:5-6

Hi, i underwent aortic valve replacement with a pig valve when i was 15.(2007).. at that time i was concerned whether AVR would not allow me to play sports, being an ardent sports enthusiast i took the decision of pig valve.. at this day i do hiking, jogging,play soccer,treking….but still i am worried whether i would need a surgery after 15 yrs….I am happy that lee D had their valve for 28 long years!!!! will mmine last that long?? please help

On December 2nd, 2010 at age (41) I had my AV replaced with a bovine tissue hear valve, Model 3300TFX. Advertized as exceptional durability to 20 years. So I guess 20 years is what I would expect from the valve. I also had a section of my aorta replaced above the valve due to an aneurysm. I don’t take coumadin but I do take an aspirin and bp medication. I have returned to full activity running, biking, kayaking, softball, basketball and fishing. I have a new appreciation for the more important things in life and have committed myself to being more positive with family and friends. Enjoy life and remember that medical advancements and procedure improvements are happening everyday. Valve replacements are being performed without the sternal incision and I have read articles about valve replacement procedures that are performed through the throat. If you have a tissue valve you will more than likely need another surgery but keep yourself in good shape, eat healthy, stay active, stay engaged in life, love your family, find the best surgeons/hospitals, retire early and appreciate everyday. Get the most out of the valve you have….