Lianna's Profile

By Lianna Croft Our son, Matt, was born with a heart murmur (like so many kids are). When he was about eight, during an annual checkup, his pediatrician said his murmur sounded harsher. We were referred to the Herma Heart Center at Children's Hospital in Milwaukee, where it was discovered that Matt has a bicuspid aortic valve. With this valve defect, children sometimes develop aortic stenosis, so they said we'd need to follow up with the cardiologist once a year. For the next several years, the valve didn't change, but then the stenosis began to develop. We started having to see the cardiologist every six months, and alternate between having an echo and an office visit, or an echo, a stress test, and an office visit. In the summer of 2013, before Matt's senior year in high school, his stress test showed an abnormality. They decided to try a balloon valvuloplasty. Unfortunately, this didn't help much. Since then, Matt has continued to see the cardiologist every six months. Now, it is time for valve replacement surgery. This Friday, May 27, 2016, Matt will have a Ross Procedure performed by Dr. Mitchell at Children's Hospital in Milwaukee.