Brian's Posts

Hi Brian! First of all, you will do great and surgery will be a success! You are young! I am 46 and just got a Resilia Aortic Valve on 2/12/19. Not by your doctor, but by Dr. Vaughn Starnes @ USC Keck. They really like them and have been using for them from what I understood a bit, but said to me, 15-20 years. So yes, similar response in longevity. Mine is from a cow, so if you think of the lifespan of a cow, maybe that's how they come up with the predict?? The one thing I notice is that my heart beat is more prominent and a bit louder. I don't notice it all the time, but when I rest it is stronger and louder. But that is normal I am told. Best wishes, thoughts and prayers!

thanks for the info. so difficult to choose a valve with all of the unertainty. I know that i don't want to be on coumadin for the rest of my life. At 61 years old looks like the resilia is a good choice. How are you doing 6 weeks after surgery? I am praying for your speedy recovery!!!!

I had Dr. svensson install a resilia tissue valve on 02/26 of this year. Like any Dr. he didn't say how long it would last, but he did say in 5 years there have been no failures of the valve, and that it's an excellent choice for younger patients. I've read that the hope is 2-3 times the longevity of the old style bovine prosthetic, ive also heard 20-25 years. So it's really hard to say, but it sounds like tests have all pointed to a longer useful life of the valve.

Brian, I was off the thinners at 4 weeks!!! Thank you for asking! I am doing well, except my incision opened up and I am a bit set back, can't start cardiac rehab. (I had a hematoma on my scar burst and it led to more of it opening and I didn't really catch it!) But honestly the first weeks are hard, and my best suggestion is to rest rest rest! If the body wants to sleep, sleep!!! I napped 2xs a day and slept! I didn't watch much TV until 3 or so weeks. And I had to live up to what was expected and that was walking a mile a day by 4 weeks! I did it. Shoulder pain was harsh, but tylenol helps. Get off the pain killers as fast as you can, but if you have to ween off, do it slowly, I did it too fast and it was hard! lol And I'm 46 and a big baby when it comes to my chest!! lol Oh, OHS and the scar and opening itself is not as painful as going in through the side where they have to slice muscle! Trust me! And knowing you are not going to die from this (which shocked me) is helpful. Being on the bypass machine for 90 minutes and the surgery was not going to kill me..it was the risk of stroke from the bleeding that would and that % is sooooooo very LOW...they won't tell you 0%, but it is close to that. You are going to do great!!! Let the nurses help you and listen to them! Decide you are going to come out of this with flying colors and you will! It is hard, but you can do it!!!

thanks TC, so glad you are now on the way to a full recovery. good luck going forward. William, what a video, I watched it and it was very interesting how they can manipulate the heart during surgery. Dan, so thankful that your surgery is behing you. Thanks everyone for your responses and info., it has been very helpful!!

Hi Brian! With the help of this site I did ALOT of research on where to go for my surgery and what surgeon to use. I chose Northwestern Memorial in Chicago which is where I live. Northwestern is ranked # 7 of the country for cardiac surgery and Dr. Patrick McCarthy is the Chief Cardiac Surgeon there and he also in charge of the Bluhm Cardiovascular Clinic there. I have a lot of respect for Dr. McCarthy and Northwestern as a result of my research and even more since my AVR surgery using an Edwards Inspiris Resilia valve, which was his recommendation, on September 6, 2018. When I met with Dr. McCarthy prior to my surgery he projected 20-25 years. He also joked at that time and said who knows by then it might just take a pill to fix things when it goes and laughed and said "Who knows with the ways things are advancing so quickly lol." Its been 7 months for me and I feel 20 years ago great. Most noticeably my vision seems alittle more clear. I also hear my heart pounding louder at night when I lay on my right side. My left shoulder aches alittle from them opening up my rib cage with a mini sternotomy but that is about it. Keep grinding and let us know of any of your developments.

Hi Brian! With the help of this site I did ALOT of research on where to go for my surgery and what surgeon to use. I chose Northwestern Memorial in Chicago which is where I live. Northwestern is ranked # 7 of the country for cardiac surgery and Dr. Patrick McCarthy is the Chief Cardiac Surgeon there and he also in charge of the Bluhm Cardiovascular Clinic there. I have a lot of respect for Dr. McCarthy and Northwestern as a result of my research and even more since my AVR surgery using an Edwards Inspiris Resilia valve, which was his recommendation, on September 6, 2018. When I met with Dr. McCarthy prior to my surgery he projected 20-25 years. He also joked at that time and said who knows by then it might just take a pill to fix things when it goes and laughed and said "Who knows with the ways things are advancing so quickly lol." Its been 7 months for me and I feel 20 years ago great. Most noticeably my vision seems alittle more clear. I also hear my heart pounding louder at night when I lay on my right side. My left shoulder aches alittle from them opening up my rib cage with a mini sternotomy but that is about it. Keep grinding and let us know of any of your developments.

Brian, several members last year had their surgeries at Mayo and I hope you'll hear from some. As I recall, Adam has responded to questions about Mayo before and he has reached out to them in the past. Hopefully, he'll chime in. If I understand correctly, the hospitals on this site are not an exhaustive list but are ones that have opted to participate here. You can read about sponsorship and sponsored content in the About Us section.

Hi Brian. I'm interested in any answers you receive. I have been referred to Dr. Hartzell Schaaf and/or Dr. Joseph Dearani at Mayo in Rochester. I am waiting for a scheduling call. The referral was made by my cardiologist who did his training there. I had the same questions as to why Mayo is not on this site.

Brian, go to Cleveland Clinic's website. They have a section where you can ask questions and I requested research articles on a problem I am having and they sent me three articles to review. It was very helpful. I do know they are growing DNA valves now, but I don't know how on the horizon this is.