Mitchell's Guestbook

Hi Mitchell, I just happen to see your name pop up and wanted to check in to see how your doing on your recovery. Hope you are doing well and getting back to 100%.

Hey Mitchell, I hope everything went well yesterday and you got that Resilia tissue valve opening and closing today! Let us know how you're doing when you feel up to it.

I just realized that you operation was today so my post was a bit late, sorry bout that. It brings my mind back to that first night out of surgery and although a bit out of it I remember the excitement of being alive and on the recovery side. just take it easy but to share a part of my recovery, On day 7 I was sitting at the beach with my wife having a picnic and it just gets better. Welcome to the recovery side 👍

Hi Mitchell, I was older than you when I had my surgery but faced the same issue. There are a couple of good articles on my journal f you care to read them. I chose bioprosthetic for a couple of reasons. You never know how you are going to react to being on warfarin until it is to personally to change your mind. Some people do okay on it and others dont. I was concerned about the outcome but I did know that if I chose the bioprosthetic that I would be me, only better after surgery. Even if I were youger personally I would chose the bio and if necessary have a second operation. My internal medicine specialist felt the same although my surgion wanted me to have a mechanical But having said that I was very healthy and both my operation and recovery were way easier than I ever expected. Some people also gave a real hard time with the clicking of the mechanical but some dont. Even with the prosthetic you hear your heart nuch more after surgery and I even find that a but annoying if I wake at night with my ear in the pillow. We also travel a lot and although you can buy your own test kit and test yourself, that combined with the fact that we love to do all inclusives and eat and drink was another deciding factor. I have no regrets at all with my decision but each of us has to do research and decide what will give you the best quality of life. All the best my friend life is good on the recovery side 👍

Mitchell.....our Heart Warrior Prayers are with you and your family today during Surgery! By now...you are probably in ICU......We look forward to hearing from you in a few days as you progress in recovery!

Mitchell - I went with the tissue valve as I also had to think about being on blood thinners for a lifetime, whatever direction you go everything will work out fine. Wish you success and speedy recovery!

I too was faced with the decision (multiple times) of whether or not to do a mechanical or tissue valve. I was told by multiple doctors that the risks of being on blood thinner for the rest of my life outweigh the risk of another surgery. I am only 48 and had my first OHS at 28. It is my understanding that there is NO guarantee a mechanical valve will last forever as they too can fail or get calcification depending on your body's composition. I have had multiple valve replacements and have gone with tissue each time Good luck!!