iyla's Journal

Fidel Martínez Ruiz  Hey Iyla, I went through a mitral valve replacement on october 2023. I had a previous endocarditis and once it was treated and cured, I had the replacement surgery. The surgeon told me after the surgery that my valve was overcalcified and with a broken chord and therefore its repair was impossible. I see here that now in many hospitals the rapairing is affordable in almost all the cases, as far as repairing is always the first option. 

iyla Dziadyk  Thanks so much for your response. I’ve been told that my valve is too calcified to repair, major MAC,  so it will most likely be a replacement. Where you told repeatedly how complicated and risky the operation is?

Fidel Martínez Ruiz  Nowadays the mitral replacement surgery is a task which surgeons usually make often. Depending on the patient age, the option is either a mechanical or a biological valve. If you are 65 years old or more surgeons lean towards biological and otherwise towards a mechanical one. Anyway, the last word is on the patient feeling and surgeon asks patient which one he want to choose. The surgeon will explain you the pro and cons of each one. Mechanical in general don´t need more surgeries along the life, but you have to take blood thinner all the life, to avoid the risk of stroke which the mechanical valves carry with them. With regard to biological ones,  they don´t need strong anticoagulants, but have a limited lifespan. The older ones implanted up 5 years ago can roughly last (average) between of 12-15 years and the new biological with a improved tissue  anticalcium can last up 20 years without problem. Here Adam has post several issues on this point with clinical trials in course in the Learning Center section. Of course it´s paramount to have confidence on the surgeon you have or choose, making sure that is skillful in the procedure. Wish you the best in your journey and count with us on any in which we can help you.