Casey's Guestbook

Hi Casey, I wanted to answer your questions about my valve choices. It really is a very hard choice. I went with the tissue valve the first time because I was scared to be on blood thinners for life and didn't want to deal with the inconveniences that come with being on coumadin (like frequent blood tests and dietary concerns). And I also wanted to have the option to have more kids, though that ended up not being a viable option anyway. I also figured that medicine would advance greatly in 10-15 years, so thought by the time I had to have it again, there would more minimally invasive approaches. I don't think I regret having the tissue valve- we had a good 10 1/2 year run and I may still get more time out of it. I didn't have any complications and it held up well until this year. I've lived a pretty normal life and am grateful for that. It's hard to decide what is best at age 40. I plan to live a long time, so I can't really plan to go through heart surgery every 10 or so years if I keep getting tissues valves. It's riskier with each surgery after, and quite frankly,open heart is not something I want to have to deal with again for a long long time. The minimally invasive approaches are not an option in my case. Since I may need both valves replaced (if the mitral can't be repaired) my only choice will be two mechanical valves at this point. I'm pretty scared about that idea. But I'll find out more when I go to the surgeon in a few weeks. I wish you peace in figuring out what is best for yourself. You will make the right choice when the time comes!