Arthur's Guestbook

You ran 2 miles 12 wks after \"the\" surgery, eh! Congratulatoins, Super...that gives me hope. I\'m 7 wks post mitral valve repair and discouraged I\'m still not able to run 5 K without it being a run/walk. Barry on the Mtn in New Mexico

Sorry to hear about your initial misery in the hospital. There are lot of little bumps in the road to recovery and all seem to be expected. Take me for example, I went back to work last Friday and Monday I had the flu. Everyone is different. Hang in there for time is the ultimate healer. Terry T.

Hi Art, I\'m surprised you had the interest and energy to write at all!! I had no interest in writing for the first 2 weeks...had family do it for me. You sound like you are doing just great--you\'ll be fine in a few days, you\'ll see!! Continued progress and healing, Nancy H.

Art, I didn\'t expect you to be posting anything so soon so your recovery must be going well. Thanks to Michele for the update. I\'m keeping you in my thoughts. Kelli too. Rick Tacoma, WA.

Hi Art, First things first, there is no wrong decision here and your surgeon should stand by your decision either way. In my case, I was skeptical to go with the mechanical because it requires the use of Coumadin. Since I\'m only 23 years old (22 when I had the surgery), I did not want to think of taking Coumadin every day for the rest of my life. In your situation, I would just advise you to take in consideration your lifestyle, activity level, and age. My surgeon told me that the tissue valves do not last as long in young males (under 30) than they do in men of your age. All in all, there is no wrong decision. It took me a while to decide on the bovine tissue valve, so don\'t feel bad if you are indecisive! If you have any more questions, don\'t hesitate to contact me! Trevor Rockford, IL

Hi Arthur,welcome to HVJ. I am a 3 X open heart 1 Atrial Septal Defect repair in 30\'s, Mitral Valve Repair in 40\'s, Mitral Valve Mechanical age 58 3 months ago. I did not have a choice due to the fact that surgeons do not want to ever do another stenotomy with so much scar tissue in chest and heart, so Coumadin is on the agenda for life. I was just started to get stablized on Coumadin when I had a bout with a collapsed lung due to a nerve block so my levels are all over the place. Most of the time I had Home Health Care testing levels 3 X wk. IF I had a choice I would still have chosen a mechanical as I really do not want to have another valve replacement. I intend to get bac to my very pre active life, including swimming laps. am sure whatever choice you make as long as you have done all of your research you will be good to go. We have a son that lives in Hollywood, I just noticed that is where you reside. You will benefit greatly from this site. Feel free to message me if I can help in anyway as I see we are close in age. Susan VandenBussche NC

Hi Arthur, Welcome to HVJ!! I think the choice comes down to something very personal for you and your lifestyle. In May of this year I had AVR surgey and chose a tissue valve at 49 years of age. My cardiologist was overwhelmingly recommending a mechanical valve. I alreday knew I was going to have my surgery at Cleveland Clinic and they are very pro tissue, as was my surgeon Dr. Gillinov. Ultimately it was my choice, and as a very active person tissue was the right choice for my situation. I did not want to have to deal with Coumadin, but the tradeoff is a valve that will likely last 15+/- years. The positive about dealing with future AVR surgery is that the protocal in the next decade for AVR will likely be through a catherter via the femoral artery, so not quite the process I had in May. That being said, even if I have to have another median sternotomy, I would still chose a tissue valve, no regrets. Like Laurie below, I just could not accept the possible trade offs in quality of life. At CC, the post surgery anti coagulant for tissue valves is baby aspirin so I never had to have a single dose of Coumadin. It is a tough choice, and I do not beleive one answer is more right than the other; it is just deciding what is most important to you and what you can deal with medically for both short and long term. The best thing you can do is educate yourself on everything about your surgery. Learn what it is going to be like, and what you think is best for you and it will work out fine for you. Good luck!! Mark Keller, TX (PS - Arnold Scwharzenneger\'s 1997 surgey was with human homograft valves and will have to be replaced)