About Me (In My Own Words)
I was diagnosed with Mitral Valve Prolapse with severe regurgitation. My cardiologist referred me to St. Paul's Hospital for echocardiogram on August 21st, 2023 and the results showed severe dilated Left Ventricle with bileaflet prolapse meaning both flaps were floppy.
On November 7th, 2023 I had an angiogram which confirmed that I had mitral valve regurgitation 4+ with marked prolapse.
The Left Ventricle is dilated significantly by 20% since last Echo. The coronary arteries had only minor irregularities and one artery showed 40% blockage.
After my angiogram I was sent to recovery where I was told that I was referred to a cardiovascular surgeon Dr. Jian Ye who came to see me.
He explained to me that I will need to have heart valve surgery and it is to be determined whether they can repair or will have to replace my mitral valve.
He was aware that I was scheduled for Transesophageal Echocardiogram (TEE) on January 9th, 2024 and this will give the heart team a better view of my mitral valve and they will decide what is best whether they repair or replace my valve.
He mentioned that my heart function is only 49% and that if I didn't have the surgery my prognosis would mean that I would go into heart failure and I would be dead in 2-5 years.
Of course, that isn't going to happen because I secured Dr. Jian Ye as my surgeon and I am so happy I did as here is part of his biography to give you an idea of who he is:
"Dr. Ye is a pioneer in the development and clinical application of transcatheter heart valves for heart valve disease. Working with other team members, Dr. Ye has performed many successful transcatheter heart valve procedures in humans for the first time, such as transapical transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI) for aortic stenosis in 2005, transcatheter aortic valve-in-valve implantation for failed bioprostheses in 2007, transapical transcatheter aortic valve implantation for aortic regurgitation in 2011, transapical JenaValve implantation for aortic stenosis or regurgitation outside Europe in 2013, transapical mitral valve replacement for mitral regurgitation in 2014, and transapical mitral valve repair for mitral regurgitation using the NeoChord device outside Europe in 2015. Dr. Ye has been teaching and training physicians and surgeons in transcatheter heart valve implantation and mitral valve repair in many countries over the past 10 years.
His special clinical interests include complex surgical mitral and tricuspid valve repair, minimally invasive surgery, transcatheter heart valve implantation, and aortic surgery."
Dr. Ye is a very gentle and kind man. He spent a lot of time with me and went over everything I would need to know for my upcoming surgery. I don't have a date yet but I have already signed the papers and will get my surgery date once I have done my TEE on January 9th, 2024.
The nurse that was looking after me that day said Dr. Ye is one of the best and I made a good choice in choosing him as my surgeon.
Symptoms that I have been experiencing are shortness of breath, chronic fatigue, low energy, chest pain, dizziness at times, and insomnia.
Dr. Ye said that he will decide if it will be a Mitral Valve Repair or if he will decide to do a Mitral Valve Replacement.
He did give me the choice if it is a replacement whether to do a tissue valve or mechanical valve.
I am so blessed that I have been given this amazing surgeon to do my heart valve surgery.
St. Paul's Heart Clinic is one of the best in Canada. They are so amazing and took very good care of me.
I look forward to updating you after my test on January 9th as to what the next steps will be.
I am so grateful to have found HeartValveSurgery.com and I am looking forward to getting to know people and finding support here.
There isn't anything that I could find like this in Canada that would give this kind of support.
More Info About Me & My Heart
More About Me
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I am from:
Burnaby, Canada
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I was diagnosed with:
Mitral Regurgitation
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My surgery was:
Mitral Valve Repair
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My surgeon is:
Dr. Jian Ye
