Enrique's Guestbook

Enrique K  I just saw your message Chris! I haven't been on this site lately but I will start checking it more often. Did you get a mechanical or tissue valve? Was this minimal invasive? I went back to work 3 weeks after my surgery. I think the headaches were because of the reaction of the Percocet didn't go well with me. Thank you so much for the note and my apology for the delay. Let me know if you need any suggestions or need further information. Hope you are on the mend my friend! I thank god for finding Dr. Lamelas as he saved my life!

Chris Purvis  Hey man no worries on the delayed response. Surgery went well. 2 inch incision with tissue valve. The only difference is mine was done under my right arm pit area. I’ve been waking 5 miles a day and going back to work July 30th. Dr. Lamelas is the best!

Enrique K  Hey man great news! Yeah my incision was across the right chest 2 inch incision. I never experiences AFib I read you had some symptoms but I'm glad you are walking and going back to work. If you have any questions or need any suggestions hit me up! I will check these posts more regularly. Can't believe in October it will be 3 years!

Enrique K  Hi Amy, I'm sorry I don't check this site very often. How did your surgery go? Was the surgery minimally invasive? I trust you have made the right decision and by now you are on the mend. My recovery took 4 weeks and I opted for a minimally invasive surgery and qualified as a candidate. You need to take prescription medications to ensure the advil and Tylenol don't interfere at the time when you are sedated with anesthesia. I hope this helps and your surgery was a none event. If you need anything else let me know. I Thank God for finding Dr. Lamelas he saved my life!

Doran Herritt  You won't find a perfect decision. There are pros and cons to both. What you will find is a "right" decision for you. It will be tough. But once you make it you can find peace. Now onto some of the pros and cons. I chose a tissue valve, I am 47 and was pointed towards a mechanical due to my age, but did not want to be on warfarin, worried about the mechanical failing (tissues tend to wear out, mechanicals just fail, but highly unlikely), worried about future surgeries while on Coumadin, finally advent of TAVR will likely result in less invasive valve replacement. Tissue valves are lasting longer it seems. I got a clinical trial valve from Edwards. It is supposed to last 2-3xs longer so if normal life is 8-12 for our age, you can see we are getting into mechanical life spans. I am two weeks post op and feeling great. Let me know if you need more. There are a lot of discussions on this topic. Use the search to see more. Take care. Drn

Doran Herritt  Was also concerned about clicking of a mechanical as I am noise sensitive and speak for a living with my job,but many say you cannot hear them. Seems to be hit or miss. If I would have gone mechanical, I would have done the on-x. Take care. Drn

Enrique K  Hello Eddie, how are you doing? Thanks for reaching out. I am 2 1/2 weeks post OP recovery is going well. Today I walked for 20 minutes around my neighborhood and I didn't get out of breath once. What a great feeling I have to tell you before I couldn't even walk 5 minutes without getting winded. You have to be active and move around in order to get better each day and I did this since my discharge. The only minor complication that I had after surgery was headaches for 3 days I guess it was because of the anesthesia and ended up in the ER. One day after the ER my headaches were none existent. We found out that I was allergic to Percoset. For the past 2 days I have had stomach aches but I think all the medications are interfering with my upset stomach plus I am constipated waiting for the Dr to call me. From a recent visit with my cardiologist they found I had pericardial effusion very small amount of liquid but he said some patients get this after surgery nothing to be alarmed and it will be taken care with anti inflammatory medication so he prescribed naproxen. Overall progress: lots of energy, not taking pain medications, incisions 5cm healing through my chest, chest tube incision closed, I never get out of breath anymore, walking 20 minutes a day, I can sleep on my stomach, most likely I will be back to work Nov 9. So things are not as bad as I thought I still get a bit dizzy when I stand up fast but that will certainly go away. I'm looking forward to the following weeks and will keep you and everyone updated. No one can force you to do anything it has to come from you to get better each and everyday.

Enrique K  Thanks Matt! Good luck to you as well on your upcoming surgery. Feeling very positive of a great outcome and the same for you!

Bob M  I pray that your surgery will be textbook and your recovery will be uneventful. Tomorrow will be a new day for you with a fixed heart. God bless and rise up!

Enrique K  Thank you Kim and Bob for thoughts and prayers, as you can see typing at 4am very much want to get this done! 7 am surgery:-)

Enrique K  Gerald, thank you so much for your thoughts and prayers for my surgery tomorrow. I am very calm and ready to get this done so I can leave a normal life.

Enrique K  Thank you so much Eddie!! Appreciate your thoughts and well wishes! I sure will hit you up once i have my bionic heart:-)

Enrique K  Thank you so much Tammy for the well wishes, prayers and good vibes. I'm looking forward to feeling well again. SO glad your surgery went well! Take care.

Enrique K  Hello Daniel, I got diagnosed with aortic valve reguritation not an aneurysm but now it has progressed to severe regurgitation. My heart is enlarged due to the leakage in my valve but the surgeon stated that I might be a candidate for this procedure since my tricuspid valve has no damage and no abnormality. He said he would try to do this procedure but If that doesn't work a tissue valve. I guess because of the enlargement of the heart is now called an aneurysm? Thank for sharing!

Daniel Spurgeon  My lay understanding is that the David procedure is used to replace an enlarged (aneurysmic) ascending aorta, but leaves the natural aortic valve in place. I have no idea whether your doctor was describing this same process to you, but it sounds different. If you don't have an aortic aneurysm be grateful! I hope you heal quickly.

Billy G  I have severe aortic regurgitation, which came out of nowhere, in a tri-leaflet aortic valve. There is no sign of infection, calcification, stenosis, aortic root dilation, or aorta dilation. For some unknown reason (probably genetics), my right-coronary leaflet is prolapsing.

Based on my initial research, I had already accepted that the valve would probably need to be replaced because I kept reading about how aortic valve repair is rare and difficult. The local surgeons in Las Vegas also told me there was not really a choice but to replace the valve.

Before I even met with my first surgeon, however, I thought, "Okay, if aortic valve repair is rare, that means they have done it. If my valve is a tri-leaflet valve with no sign of any other problems, shouldn't that be a good candidate for repair?" I started researching that topic and now believe it may be repairable.

My digging brought me to this video with Adam interviewing Dr. Lars Svensson: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZIEvCzBhEO0.

Starting around the 1:20 mark, Dr. Svensson talks about using the David reimplementation procedure to fix tri-leaflet valves. I, too, thought this procedure was used in valve sparing surgeries when replacing the aortic root and/or aorta, so I am not sure how it comes into play when the only issue is with the valve.

I then found another video in which Dr. Svensson was demonstrating the David reimplementation procedure, but it has since been removed from YouTube. I did make a note, however, that Dr. Svensson said, "I think in the modern era, that most patients should never end up with a valve replacement if the leaflets of the aortic valve are intact and they have an enlarged aortic root. Indeed, in some patients who have aortic valve regurgitation without a[] [] enlarged root, we can often repair the valve if it is leaking by this operation." I took "by this operation" in the given context to mean that the David reimplementation procedure is used for aortic valve repair even without dilation of the aorta or aortic root.

Of course, I can't wait for my scheduled consultations with surgeons to dig into this more and understand how the David reimplementation procedure can be used in only repairing the valve, if they would ever repair the valve without using the David Reimplementation procedure, etc.

Enrique K  Thanks for the detailed feedback Billy I'm so knew to this stuff . We are in the same boat. The Surgeon at the at the Cleveland Clinic told me today this would be the best approach and he wouldn't wait more than 30 days for the surgery. I still need to meet with the surgeon from Mt. Sinai and ask him about this procedure. I will also keep you updated. Thanks again! If they need to put a tissue valve then that is the way will proceed. Both surgeons suggested Mechanical Valve but I have made up my mind. Who knows what will happen it 10-15 years from now.

Billy G  Which surgeon did you talk to at Cleveland Clinic?

I'm fairly new to this as well. I never had any signs of a problem, and although I had signs 18 months ago (looking back), the doctors blew them off. I actually self-diagnosed the problem in early August before having a cardiologist confirm it late August. In those 4 weeks or so of waiting, I researched as much as I could and still continue reading about everything every day.

I sure wish I didn't have to go through this, but unfortunately, there is no choice but to get it fixed as soon as possible. Since I have to do it, I'm going to research as much as I can to make the best decision I can.

Do you mind me asking how old you are? I'm 34. If a repair is not an option, I'm still open to a tissue valve, but I'm leaning more towards a mechanical valve. My biggest concern with the tissue valves is that I work out a lot - I am swimming faster than I was in college. A lot of people say tissue valves tend to get calcified faster in younger and more active people, so that's what scares me: will I even get 10 years out of one? It's definitely a very personal decision, though, and there is no right or wrong choice.

Tina Maroon  Dr. Soltesz at the Cleveland Clinic is great for fixing Ascending Aortic Aneurysms and fixing multiple issues in the heart. He saved my life!!

Enrique K  Hello Billy, I spoke to Dr. Edward Savage at the Cleveland Clinic in Weston, FL. I am 41 years of age and my surgeon recommended a mechanical valve but I am a very active person and avid snow skiier. I asked one of the surgeons will I ever be able to go skiing he said no. Absolutely, it's a personal choice but it will limit the food you eat and it will change my lifestyle drastically. Not to mention, you have more chances of getting a stroke and taking Coumadin all my life and checking my INR it's just not for me. If my valve wears out in 10 15 years I will get a new one maybe the operation will be through the leg. I just got my surgery date Oct 9, 2015 and Dr. Joseph Lamelas most likely will be the one doing my surgery. I just purchased Adams Book highly recommended. Let me know if you need anything else! Good luck! Also, they stated they might do a Dave Procedure since I am a candidate and will ask about the Ross Procedure.

Billy G  Enrique, it sounds like you're on top of everything. I'm a little jealous you already have a surgery date set and that it is so soon. :) I'll definitely continue to follow your updates to see how you're doing! Good luck!

Enrique K  Thank you Billy! I have an Appt next Wednesday with the surgeon will keep you updated on the progress! Good luck as well!

Elaine Cutri  Eric Roselli at Cleveland Clinic did my aorta aneurysm repair and valve replacement. Did a great job!

Billy G  Elaine, he's definitely one of the handful of surgeons that I've had my eye on. Thanks for the feedback!

Enrique K  Hello Eddie! Good to hear from you! Thanks for reaching out. I have my cardiac cath this Friday at 7am though the wrist. Next wed I have another appt with the Cleveland Clinic with Dr. Edward Savage in Weston, FL to get another opinion and then one from NY. All Drs. Need the CTA, TEE Cardiac Cath. I am pretty sure I will get the surgery done with Joseph Lamelas but I need to check his references with other professionals in his field. I prefer to do this sooner than later since we are at the point of surgery. Maybe a month no set date yet for surgery. Yes this community has been great and very caring. Will keep you posted and thanks so much for reaching out!