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Hi Don,
It is nice to hear from you. As you can see, I haven't visited this blog for a long time.
Your concerns about the choice of valve are familiar to me; should you have the pig, the cow or the metal valve? The honest answer as far as... Read more.
Hi Don,
It is nice to hear from you. As you can see, I haven't visited this blog for a long time.
Your concerns about the choice of valve are familiar to me; should you have the pig, the cow or the metal valve? The honest answer as far as I know is that they are all very effective and likely, different surgeons have different reasons for picking one over the other. Ask them WHY they like one type of valve better than the others for you.
I was told that if a metal valve is used the patient will need to take a blood thinner for the rest of their life. But, if you are young, the metal apparently lasts longer than the animal valves and therefore there is less chance that you will ever need to replace it. My good friend got his metal valve two years before I got my pig valve and reports that the medication is no big deal.
However, when things are very quiet I can hear him softly clicking if I am close to him (he and his wife say the sound is comforting). Likely, by now, they have improved the metal so it doesn't make an barely audible sound.
I was 68 when I had the replacement procedure done and I got the pig valve. A year later, my sister who was 70 had the exact same condition as I did and got the bovine valve. The surgeon was the same guy who did me. My sister said he chose the cow valve for her because she had a larger aorta.
In my view, the most important decision you have to make is NOT the type of valve, nor the surgical technique or the decision to repair rather than replace the valve. The most fecund decision will be the selection of a surgeon that has a lot of experience doing the procedure and whose outcomes are good. Aside from simply asking the physician (it's your life so don't be shy) sometimes you can connect to a cardiac ICU nurse or your GP physician to discover the surgeons reputation. The cardiac nurses see all of the outcomes and are in an excellent position to make an assessment.
Cardiac surgeons who have done a lot of these procedures have garnered great expertise. To compare, find out how long they have done the procedure and how many operations they have done or indeed done successfully.
In my case, my surgery and recovery were unremarkable; a little inconvenient, but free of pain and amazingly non-confining. I was up and around in a couple of weeks. Now, I don't even think about it the part of me that is pig - although my wife still does equate me to this species from time to time.
Regardless, I had no choice and likely you have no choice but to get it done. Don't dither! Do your homework as best you can and go for it. Some folks have a bit more arduous recovery but very, very few lose their life. Frankly, the operation is a miracle of modern medicine. It will give you your life back.
And, by the way I feel strongly that my positive outlook and ghoulish sense of humor helped me through the operation and especially my recovery. If you haven't already, start to laugh at yourself and your fears will dissipate.
Have absolute confidence that you will be just fine and make plans to participate in the 2014 Olympic Games. You will indeed be just fine.
