James's Guestbook

James: It's been 11 years since I had my Aortic Valve replaced (Bovine) and Aortic Stem replaced when I was 64 and now I'm 75 and after my last Echo my Doc tells me that my Aortic Valve is in great shape. I found rehab to be the best activity that helped me regain my health. Day by day keep up your rehab schedule.

Hi, James! Hope you are doing well there. My prayers are with you and others with heart problems. I myself would need a surgery in future not to far. Soon you will be able to share with us your experience. Be strong there.

Hello James , I had my stenotic Aortic valve replaced and ascending  Aortic aneurysm repaired at Cleveland Clinic in Jan. 2020 . My bovine valve is a Edwards Resilla 25 a Great valve! 
I cannot say enough good about Cleveland Clinic. I live in upstate New York. I travel to the Clinic every year for my recheck because I trust them with my life that being said when I had my surgery Covid hit so all my rehab I did at home and I followed it daily and I worked hard at it, but I still had a solid three months of rehab. I was asymptomatic. I had zero symptoms which surgeon was amazed at. I am a union pipe fitter so I lift a lot of heavy material. It's pretty labor intensive . My surgery was at the age of 57.
My point is trust your surgical team stay positive and you will do fine. The best of luck to you if you have any questions ever you could reach out to me. Every day.

Hi James! Just a note to tell you I had this exact surgery in July, 2019. I am not going to lie, it was hard at first. But do what your medical team tells you, especially the walking. Now I am in better shape than I was before the surgery. You can do it!!! 🥰

Hi James, I had open heart surgery on Jan 6, 2020 at age 61 to replace a bicuspid aortic valve that had become calcified to the point that there was not much room for the blood to flow.  I too decided to go with a bovine valve, the Edwards Resilia. I feel much better now and can do a lot more than I used to even though I am 6 years older now. I get an Echo once a year and sometimes stress test and the doctor has not found anything to be concerned about. I will just mention that they may tell you that you will need to sleep on your back for a few months until your chest is fully healed.  To make it more comfortable I ended up getting an adjustable bed.  I never used to sleep on my back when I was in bed only in the recliner for some reason but the adjustable bed was a huge help.  So I would suggest considering an adjustable bed. My other suggestion is to listen to the doctors and do the recovery exercises they recommend especially walking. All the best. I feel confident that the improved blood flow will make you feel much younger.  As they say, keep on tick’n! Vince

James, I just had Aortic valve replacement, aortic root replacement, & ascending aorta repair, plus left arti clip on March 26, 2026 at Cleveland Clinic with Dr Eric Roselli, my surgery was an absolute success. It’s been four weeks now don’t worry everything will work out. You are in my prayers.!

I had this exact same operation done 11 months ago, age 67. Here are a couple things I experienced and you might also.  You may wake up with a breathing tube, stay calm they will remove it.  I also had a short bout with afib, new meds controlled it. Didn't have alot of pain and was up walking the next day. Also didn't have much of an appetite for several weeks. Its not easy but you can do it.  Good luck. 

Hi James. I had my aortic valve replaced 8 weeks ago via open heart surgery.  They thought they might have to reinforce my aorta at the same time but when they were in there they determined it to be in good shape not requiring repair. I am 68, live not too far from you in New Brunswick, Canada.  I lucked out with virtually no pain after 3 days, and a great recovery so far.  Get as big a valve as you can and keep a positive attitude.  All will turn out well. Best of luck to you.   Both procedures-valve replacement and aneurism repair- are fairly routine these days. 

Hi James I’m not familiar with your condition but I did have a double bypass and a mitral valve repair with an Edward Life Sciences repair valve @ Mass General and it’s been 2 years since! If you’re in the area I would suggest a second opinion with Sergei Mcginlickocjk not sure if I spelled it right! They are affiliated with Harvard as a teaching hospital and they specialize in all types of heart surgery including heart transplants ! I would say that I received the best of care in one of the best! Sincerely best wishes!

Best of luck, James! I had my mitral replaced twice.  I had a cow valve now.  So far so good.  It’s a year and a half.  I had 2 open heart surgeries.  Ass kicking but survivable.  ❤️

I’ve had open-heart surgery twice in the last six years and dealt with everything that you are sharing, they both went well and you should expect that in a couple months you’ll be back at it. My only advice is be sure the bovine valve they put in will  properly accept a TAVR procedure if ever necessary in the future. 

James, had aortic valve replaced, and a quadruple bypass AND a root enlargement (aortic valve, in anticipation of a followup TAVR in 10-20years) all done in the same procedural setting March 25.

im a healthy 66 then and now 67. everything goes fine, the vein harvesting from my leg has been more difficult than the SAVR lol. That said, the trapezius cramps have been the surprise pain, but they’re occasional and brief (60-90sec). walking is a tough ask initially, but understand it’s SLOW AND STEADY that wins the race. Getting into and out of bed has been easy. Use those core and oblique muscles, DO NOT PUSH with arms!

Breathe…..it gets easier….Im 4 weeks post op (sent home on day 5!!!! and i’m walking 6km per day already (3x every 4 hours, over total excursions daily, about 30m each).

i’ll be running a 5k charity event for KKWC sept 19, Kitchener Kids with Cancer. check it out. they have it rough, so surely we can be inspired and motivated to get well.

Carry on and best of mind always.

gary

James,

I was to born with Aortic Stenosis 

my recommendation would be Dr. El-Hamamsy- Mt. Sinai New York



my original; valve was put in 1979 in New York at Mt. Sinai St. Jude Valve I am 61 yrs old- 



If i can be of help please do not hesitate to reach out Marc Becker 



mbecker @associatedcarrier.com 

Hi James, 

I had my aortic valve /mechanical St Jude implanted in 2010. I could have chose the cow valve but didn’t want a reoperation since I was 51 at the time. You should get thru this just think the pain will pass and you will live longer. Peace ❤️

Hi James, I had the TAVR procedure on the 16th of April. Expecting to go home in a day or two turned out to be 6 days. My advice, review possible difficulties during the surgery with your team in advance and specify the interventions you will or will not allow.

Hi James, I've had 2 aortic valve replacements and my first one was cow valve and aortic aneurysm repair.  You may be short of breath when you wake up after surgery, and this is normal so don't stress out.  Get up and walk as soon as you're ready and they let you and you'll back to, and better than normal soon.  Good luck!!