c's Guestbook

c w  Haha! For me it’s just the shoulder
rolls…pushing my shoulders back & expanding the chest is not such a good idea yet!! yikes!!!

c w  Hi, Max. I'm 56. I did not have stenosis… my valve was in good enough shape to be repaired. The problem with my valve was regurgitation, which was moderate, or moderate / severe, depending on which test result I look at. That alone might not have qualified me for surgery. 

The main concern for me was aortic aneurysm, which was 5.2cm at the time it was discovered. (Surgical intervention is indicated at 5.0cm, and I think even less if there is family history of aortic disease, which I have — my mother died of aortic dissection.) 

The whole process from discovery of the aneurysm to surgery was only 10 weeks. My surgeon said, "You can put this off till fall, but I wouldn't wait till spring." 

Finding it so late in life I think was a mixed blessing — it's scary to think I may have been walking around with this for so long, undiagnosed. But I didn't have to live with the uncertainty / fear of dissection for very long.

So I don't know much about progression… in my 20s, a doctor told me I had a murmur, but no doctors since took it seriously till last year. I only had my first echo last July. I do think I had symptoms (fatigue, syncope, an unproductive cough unrelated to being sick, shortness of breath, etc.) beginning in 2012, but since no one was monitoring me, there is no way to know what was related to my bad valve. I am hoping surgery resolves these issues, and to feel better in so many ways once fully recovered. 
The cough, for example, is fully gone. 

Best of luck to you — it is great you have the opportunity to do all this research and to be monitored! 

Max Jam  Thank you so much!

ignorance is bliss sometimes. I wish i found out later about this. 

Blessings and congrats! 

c w  Hi Max. My surgeon was Glenn Egrie, California Pacific Medical Foundation Van Ness in San Francisco. He is not in the surgeon index here, though I suppose I could add him. I was referred to him by my cardiologist. They are in the same health care network, work together regularly, and had personal discussions about my case.

I have my own reasons for being happy and satisfied with my team and going to a regional hospital, even with big name hospitals like UCSF and Stanford being right here. I was thinking of / prioritizing different things than what are commonly expressed here — which I totally understand and are completely valid. Everyone’s priorities and what makes them comfortable are unique.

Max Jam  Hello C, do you know if tavr is possible after bicuspid repair? Or it needs to be surgery if it fails again? 

c w  Sorry, Max —- I do not know the answer to that. I know that my surgeon’s hope for me is that I could have TAVR if / when that becomes necessary. Check back with me in 20-30 years (at minimum, I hope!) !!!!