Bryan's Guestbook

Hello Bryan...hope you are recovering nicely! My name is Tom Kane and I had minimally invasive mitral valve repair (mitral valve prolapse with moderate to severe regurgitation). I live in Raleigh and had my surgery done at Wakemed Hospital. I was fortunate in that my wife worked with the cardio-vascular team as a documentation specialist/analyst. So she knew the team and had great confidence in them. I had the surgery in March 2018 and exactly 7 weeks later the pain from my small incision was gone with the help of some great therapists and was on the golf course at exactly 7 weeks. All subsequent echos show no regurgitation and the heart murmur is gone. By the was I am 71 years old and very active. I wanted to share this info to show you how good it can be even though it is a shock to the system (mental ad physical). Keep doing what they tell you. My training in the gym (weight training) is more than before I went in for surgery and my swimming 3x/week also exceeding all expectations. There is light at the end of the tunnel..

Hi Brian, welcome to the site. I’m always amazed at the folks who have gone a long while without detecting the problem. I’m glad they found it now. It’s tough that your wife is expecting. I hope you both will have a great support system to get you through. Keep us updated!

We have very similar circumstances. I recently turned 41, my wife is pregnant, and I was diagnosed last month with MVP with severe regurgitation; I had no idea I even had a condition. I'm set for surgery the 27th of this month. It's a very tough pill to swallow at first, but it does get easier to accept. The initial shock will wear off; for me, it's given way to being very thankful that I live in a day and age where this stuff is practically routine surgery. My advice is to do your research and find both a surgery and (especially) a surgeon that you're comfortable with, then stop researching. Lean back, trust the surgeon, trust God, and enjoy your time with family leading up to the procedure. I'll be following your progress and praying for you. Let us know how your search for a surgeon turns out, and don't hesitate to ask a lot of questions; I sure had a bunch of them!

Brian, good luck. That is tough with your wife expecting. I'm 47...looking at aortic valve replacement on 20 Feb. Mostly asymptomatic like you, but my left ventricle and aorta are not loving life anymore w/my bicuspid valve. Just told my kids last night. Looking forward to getting on the other side of this and living a full life with them. Be well...sending you positive vibes from a couple states to your north (MD).

Bryan, As the newest member of our community, I want to welcome you HeartValveSurgery.com. So you know, I can completely relate to your story considering that, at the age of 33 (pretty close to you), I learned that I needed heart valve surgery. I felt confused, afraid and alone. It is for those reasons that I started this website - to educate and empower patients with heart valve disease. That said, I am here to help in any way that I can. Please let me know what I can do. You will get through this - just like I did. Fyi, I just celebrated my 14th anniversary after heart valve surgery. If I can do it... So can you!!!!

It sounds like you have a lot going on in your life right now. I think you'll find this site helpful with some understanding and helpful folks. I wish you the very best.