Hello Everyone. I am new here and likely will have AVR sometime in September. I have to do the preliminary tests.. Would somebody please tell me what kind of ...Read more
Hello Everyone. I am new here and likely will have AVR sometime in September. I have to do the preliminary tests.. Would somebody please tell me what kind of replacement valve you had, bio or mechanical and how you made your decision. My doc suggests mechanical but I am nervous about the sound driving me nuts. I am 59. Thanks for any suggestions.
Conrad Skowronski Hi Howard -- I discussed my options with my surgeon and decided to go with the On-X mechanical aortic ... Read more
Conrad Skowronski Hi Howard -- I discussed my options with my surgeon and decided to go with the On-X mechanical aortic valve. It should last for decades and requires only a small of blood thinners daily. Today is my 4 week anniversary from my surgery. I am doing well, got "handed off" to my regular cardiologist and will start rehab this week. I see you are from Phoenix, as am I. Where are you planning on getting your AVR done? I had mine done at the Mayo. I thought I would hear my valve, but I don't. I can sometimes feel the heartbeat, but the sound is non-existent. I know some other patients say they can hear it, but I guess I'm lucky in that regard. I wish you well -- I know the month before surgery can be very nerve-racking.
ConNie Romo I am 6 weeks out and I opted for a tissue valve(bovine). I chose the tissue over mechanical for a per ... Read more
ConNie Romo I am 6 weeks out and I opted for a tissue valve(bovine). I chose the tissue over mechanical for a personal reason of not wanting to deal with Coumadin for the rest of my life. I read a bunch of journals online on the pros and cons of both valves and I felt i can deal with the cons of the tissue valve over the mechanical, plus with the new technology on valve surgery- TAVR, I have a better chance of not having to go under the knife again when the need arise for the valve to be replaced. I can see that technological advancements in valve surgery is on my side👍🏼
Juergen Li Howard - I am 58 and went with the On-X as well - this is the mechanical valve with the best performa ... Read more
Juergen Li Howard - I am 58 and went with the On-X as well - this is the mechanical valve with the best performance. I am 3.5 weeks post AVR and feel great - Valve is also working great, and I feel better than before surgery. I can confirm Conrad's comments regarding the possible sound from the valve - this is a non-issue. I had two doctors recommending a mechanical valve, and this was also my conclusion after reading for weeks about this. No regrets on my end - recovery goes very well. Feels as if I never had surgery.
Hi Howard I had a repair so I can't talk about which valve to choose. What I can say is when you have ... Read more
Hi Howard I had a repair so I can't talk about which valve to choose. What I can say is when you have this done Mayo Phoenix is awesome. 3 of us on here are only a few weeks apart in regards to surgery and we can each tell you how great our experience was at Mayo.
The surgeons are top notch and I could not have picked a better one Patrick Devaleria. Good luck on all this can be a tough road at times but it is worth it in the end.
Clare Auten I have an On-X mechanical valve too. I so still hear it. Like right now when the whole family is asle ... Read more
Clare Auten I have an On-X mechanical valve too. I so still hear it. Like right now when the whole family is asleep and all televisions are off. I don't hear it all the time and have gotten used to it.
Rita Savelis One gets used to the sound of a mechanical valve. Sleeping next to someone who snores is much worse i ... Read more
Rita Savelis One gets used to the sound of a mechanical valve. Sleeping next to someone who snores is much worse in my experience....
Peggy Whitecotton I went for the tissue bovine aortic valve for several reasons for one did not want to take blood thin ... Read more
Peggy Whitecotton I went for the tissue bovine aortic valve for several reasons for one did not want to take blood thinners the rest of my life. I think it's a personal decision based on your age, lifestyle and so forth. My surgeon feels mine will last me the rest of my life. The tissue valves are lasting longer especially in older people, if not, then there is the tavr..
Steven A Husted Hi Howard I AGREE WITH CONNIE BUT IN THE END IT IS A PERSONAL DECISION ON WHAT MAKES YOU COMFORTABLE ... Read more
Steven A Husted Hi Howard I AGREE WITH CONNIE BUT IN THE END IT IS A PERSONAL DECISION ON WHAT MAKES YOU COMFORTABLE I DID NOT WANT TO BE ON BLOOD THINNERS ALL MY LIFE AND THE INR TESTING EVERY FEW WEEKS AND THE CLICKING OF THE VALVE AND THE IDEA THAT A MECHANICAL VALVE CAN FAIL JUST LIKE ANY OTHER VALVE WITH CALCIUM BUILD UP OR INFECTION OR SCAR TISSUE SO THERE IS NO GUARANTEE WITH ANY VALVE THAT IS WHY I SAY IT IS A PERSONAL CHOICE AND I HEARD THAT THERE HAVE BEEN BOVINE TISSUE VALVES TO LAST 31 YEARS AND WITH ALL THE ADVANCES IN MEDICINE I MAY NOT NEED TO HAVE ANOTHER SURGERY OR I CAN HAVE A TAVR I CHOSE THE BOVINE TISSUE VALVE AND I AM DOING FINE JUST PASSED MY SECOND ANNIVERSARY WHICH EVER ONE YOU CHOOSE YOU WILL DO FINE THEY ALL WORK WELL AND WILL GIVE YOU A LONGER LIFE
Corey Sines At 59, in the Aortic position, with the likely advances in TAVR, you could really decide to go with e ... Read more
Corey Sines At 59, in the Aortic position, with the likely advances in TAVR, you could really decide to go with either Prosthetic Valve. With a tissue valve you likely have to deal with another procedure, or choose mechanical and deal with blood thinners and their risks. That's really where your thought process needs to be, which one are you more OK with?
Peggy Whitecotton I have heard that a that a tavr CAN NOT be done if you have a mechanical valve and they can only do ... Read more
Peggy Whitecotton I have heard that a that a tavr CAN NOT be done if you have a mechanical valve and they can only do them with have a tissue valve. I would ask my doctor if that is true.. Again, whatever you are most comfortable with for you age or lifestyle.
Chris Vereb Hello I chose mechanical. I am 51. Warfarin so far for me is no big deal. I have a Sorin Top Hat aor ... Read more
Chris Vereb Hello I chose mechanical. I am 51. Warfarin so far for me is no big deal. I have a Sorin Top Hat aortic valve. I must be deaf because, I have to concentrate and still can barely hear mine in the bathroom at night. I can go on and on but basically I liked the one and done Idea of the mechanical.
David C I am currently recovering from a repair. Prior to meeting the surgeon I was leaning very much towards ... Read more
David C I am currently recovering from a repair. Prior to meeting the surgeon I was leaning very much towards the On-x valve as my back up, but my surgeon and, later talking with some of the nurses, they were all more inclined towards a Tissue valve. I'm only 41 and I like to hike, trail run, camp, mountain bike, snowboard, etc. I might not have been able to be as active. Also due to my age, I would likely have needed a mechanical valve replaced as well, sometime in my 70's.
In the end, heading into surgery and picking out a back up valve option, it came down to hard math. Talking with my surgeon about the idea of a tissue valve, we looked at the mortality risk associated with surgery. At CC it is less than 1%. No one would want a second surgery but the actual risk factors would be almost the same if a second surgery was needed, and my aorta and aortic root [bigger jobs that were driving this adventure] would already repaired. If I had to get a tissue valve, I felt confident that the likelihood of advancements in TAVR in the next 10 years would be significant. So my back up, if they opened me up and couldn't do a repair, was a tissue valve.
I am pretty sure Peggy is right. It's my understanding as well that you can't do a TAVR once a mechanical valve is put in.
Corey Sines That is correct, no TAVR with a mechanical. My post was referencing if he went with a tissue now, i ... Read more
Corey Sines That is correct, no TAVR with a mechanical. My post was referencing if he went with a tissue now, it would be a possibility in the future and the hope being they improve the longevity of the catheter delivered valve to be close or equal OHS delivered Tissue valves.
I am from: Phoenix, AZ
The surgeons are top notch and I could not have picked a better one Patrick Devaleria. Good luck on all this can be a tough road at times but it is worth it in the end.
In the end, heading into surgery and picking out a back up valve option, it came down to hard math. Talking with my surgeon about the idea of a tissue valve, we looked at the mortality risk associated with surgery. At CC it is less than 1%. No one would want a second surgery but the actual risk factors would be almost the same if a second surgery was needed, and my aorta and aortic root [bigger jobs that were driving this adventure] would already repaired. If I had to get a tissue valve, I felt confident that the likelihood of advancements in TAVR in the next 10 years would be significant. So my back up, if they opened me up and couldn't do a repair, was a tissue valve.
I am pretty sure Peggy is right. It's my understanding as well that you can't do a TAVR once a mechanical valve is put in.