About Me (In My Own Words)
I just turned 54.
In early 2002, after a suspicious finding on an x-ray as part of the life insurance exam, I was diagnosed with a bicuspid aortic value and an aneurysm in my ascending aorta. My cardiologist immediately sent me for a consultation with Dr. Randall Griepp at Mt. Sinai. I was followed locally in Albany, NY and periodically at Mt. Sinai. Things were stable for many years until the fall of 2014 when I again visited Mt. Sinai.
The tests showed that the aneurysm had grown to a point where surgery was needed. It was bit strange in that I had been essentially asymptomatic for all those years. I was able to keep up my running and other exercise until a day or so before checking into the hospital for surgery.
A few weeks before the surgery, my wife and I met with Dr. Allan Stewart who explained all of my test results and what needed to be done. They way he explained things was reassuring and he was supremely confident that he could help and that I would be better than new (literally true as I was born with the faulty value).
I had my surgery on November 6, 2014. Once the operation began, I am told, it was plain that my valve was too far gone for repair so Dr. Stewart had to replace it with a bovine valve. Even though it will need replacement down the road, this was a better choice for me than a mechanical valve because I am not on blood thinners and mechanical values make "clicking" noises which would be hard to handle, at least for me.
The surgery went very well and I was home after 5 nights post surgery at the hospital.
I can't say enough about Dr. Stewart, his office administrator Debra Segreti and all of the physician assistants and other professionals in his office. I also can't say enough about the wonderful nurses and other staff at Mt. Sinai.
I did have a post surgery complication, fairly common sort of issue, with an atrial flutter that landed me in my local hospital for 5 nights about three weeks after surgery but after a cardio-vert and good care locally, I have been fine ever since.
In fact, I'm back to my regular running and now that Spring has sprung in upstate NY I am back out on the road doing 3 miles every other day or so and looking forward to increasing the mileage a bit more. As Dr. Stewart said to me, my new "normal" may be better because of the bum value I had for so many years. We'll see if my running times come down but, whatever, I'm thrilled to be running and feeling well.
I highly recommend cardio - rehab. It gave me the confidence to get back to my exercise and, eventually, my running.
I highly recommend Dr. Stewart, his staff and Mt. Sinai.
Honestly, it was all very frightening, but Dr. Stewart's steely confidence in his ability to help me made it easier.
I hope others can take some comfort from my experience. Like they say, this really is just plumbing and Dr. Stewart and others like him know their business. The nurses and other staff know their business and will take excellent care of you.
Progress after surgery accelerates significantly once you get your appetite back and then at the 3 month mark. Just try to eat as much as you can, get rest as best as you can at night (keeping naps to a minimum) and get your exercise.
Good luck and it's going to be ok!!!
More Info About Me & My Heart
More About Me
-
I am from:
Delmar
-
My surgery date is:
November 6, 2014
-
I was diagnosed with:
Bicuspid Aortic Valve
Aortic Aneurysm
-
My surgery was:
Aortic Valve Replacement
Aortic Aneurysm Replacement
-
-
My hospital is:
Mt. Sinai