Pat's Journal

Yumiko Ishida  I don’t know the answer but was curious and looked at my surgery notes. They only mention the pericardium in the context of creating the pericardial cradle sack and later for placing the pacing wires. Not sure if it’s related to your question, but I do remember the surgeon telling me that the openings for the drains are “open,” as in open wounds. One of them was under my breast fold and was oozing for a while (a couple of months?) but they all eventually closed up. Still have scars, of course. I think they use sutures only where necessary, for parts that tend to move and need to be held in place while they heal. The new valve needs to be sutured in place. For my MVR they went through my left atrium, so that had to be closed with suture, but perhaps once the chambers are closed up the sac around them is supposed to heal around in place? I want to know if you find the answer!

Anna Ma  I’m trying to find out too. This is what bothers me most now, everything seems making progress except the thumping sensation of my heart beat which seems to be caused by the cut of pericardium. I do hope it will heal by itself! I read some patients have that sensation for years!

Andrea Babcock  Hang in there. I know the days leading up to surgery are nerve wracking but most likely you will have a really good outcome and soon after you will be back in action. Best wishes!

Barbara deLoache  My surgery is 2 days before yours Pat.. but I will not be at CC with you. Here’s to excellent surgical outcomes & recoveries for both of us!

Jennifer Fuller  You’re going to do great. If you were working out regularly with moderate stenosis, chances are you’ll feel really good again after your valve replacement. Just give yourself time, and don’t get discouraged during recovery. It can feel like a slog in the beginning, but I’m 5 months post surgery and feeling sooo much better than I did pre-surgery.

Lynne Anderson  I'm a little over a month out from surgery. My surgical team said there should be a huge improvement in my workouts (I'm a 6-7 day workout person). I figured my poor race/workout performance over the last 2-3 years was due to getting older but they assured me it was mostly the valve.  I agree with you regarding the patience - I'm going to have to really focus on not doing too much too soon.

Barbara deLoache  Hi Pat..my surgery is April 9th. Like you, I was diagnosed with bivalve 10 years ago. Now I have severe stenosis, started having symptoms last fall & they have been getting worse. I am actually looking forward to having a new valve as my symptoms are starting to scare me at times. I am 78 & not as active as you are but in relatively good shape. I live in Asheville so we’re sort of neighbors! My surgery will be here,  as going to Cleveland is not possible for me. Let’s keep up with our progress!  Let’s do this thing!♥️

Dan Fouratt  this is a general article regarding SAVR vs TARV changing by age. I found it interesting.  I have a bicuspid valve and not sure if that is a factor or not. 

https://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/980936?form=fpf

Barbara deLoache  I do not see anything in the above article about whether TVAR is appropriate for bivalves. It has been hard for me to find definitive information about this. I may have to get opinions via Telehealth with several top cardiac surgeons after I talk with my local surgeons.

Nancy Bukowski  I have a BAV with severe stenosis and am seeing a surgeon on feb 5th.  I will share any information I glean from my visit.  The surgeon I am seeing is Tsuyoshi Kaneko at BJC in St. Louis.  https://www.hcplive.com/view/acc-house-call-latebreaking-tavr-data