Steven Rossiter - Heart Valve Journal

My Journal

1355 days ago

Holly Wale reacted to this

I was admitted to the hospital on September 9th 2021, and the surgery went well, I had the new mechanical Onx Valve installed, the next few days when without ...Read more

I was admitted to the hospital on September 9th 2021, and the surgery went well, I had the new mechanical Onx Valve installed, the next few days when without any complications and was moved to a regular room to finish my recovery, at that point there was an additional problem, and so everyone knows with any heart surgery this can happen. I was getting out of bed to go for a walk, and I lost all control of my left hand, the Nurses and Medical staff took me immediately down to have a CT scan, and then I went back to the ICU, for some additional treatment for a minor stroke. The doctors think a very small piece of calcium may have caused the minor stroke, but nothing was showing on the CT scan, or on a MRI that was also done. I know this sounds horrible, and to be honest it was scary for sure, but because of the quick action by the medical team and staff at Barns Hospital, after a few days, I could start moving my hand a small amount, and after a week of working with the medical team and physical therapy I left the hospital with almost 100% of the movement back. As I said the heart valve replacement went very well, I only have a small scar where the doctor went between my ribs to install the valve, which I think was great, as it made the recovery that much faster. It is now October 7th and I am typing using both hands, I have been back to work (working from home) for a week now, and have 100% of the movement back in my hand, now I am still trying to get the diet and Warfarin levels fine-tuned, but that I am sure we will get under control shortly. I have more hospital follow up appointments and I will let everyone know how they go.

Rose Madura Wow. I guess it was good that you were at the hospital when you had the stroke. Glad you have gotte ... Read more

Rose Madura Wow. I guess it was good that you were at the hospital when you had the stroke. Glad you have gotten ise of your hand back and are back at work. Heart warriors are resilient.

Steven Rossiterposted an update

1446 days ago

Dan Baltazor reacted to this

I have been told I need Aortic Valve Replacement Surgery, and am scheduled for surgery Sept 9, at Barns hospital in St Louis. I have been looking at options ...Read more

I have been told I need Aortic Valve Replacement Surgery, and am scheduled for surgery Sept 9, at Barns hospital in St Louis. I have been looking at options in the type of replacement, Mechanical or Bio, My Doctor has said, due to my age I should get a Mechanical valve, I am 55. I just not sure about the blood thinners, I have traveled worldwide and would like to do some extensive travels in the next 5 years or so. How does the blood thinners effect daily activities and travel?

Pamela Belmore I had my aortic valve replacement at age 54 because I was born bicuspid. I got a cow valve and I neve ... Read more

Pamela Belmore I had my aortic valve replacement at age 54 because I was born bicuspid. I got a cow valve and I never had any problems or restrictions. I take a low dose aspirin every day. I did not want the restrictions of being on blood thinners or the dietary restrictions or the clicking of a mechanical valve. I’m 16 yrs out now and my cow valve needs to replaced. I can get the Tavr non invasive procedure or another cow valve. I’m thinking about it. I know I still don’t want a mechanical valve though. Research before u decide and even get a second opinion. Best of luck.

Brody Sheffer I current take Warfarin as I have AFIB due to a heart valve problem that I will need to have replaced ... Read more

Brody Sheffer I current take Warfarin as I have AFIB due to a heart valve problem that I will need to have replaced in the near future. I have been on Warfarin for nearly two months and have not noticed any significant changes to my lifestyle. I continue to exercise (as much as possible) and have traveled without issue. Monitoring your diet is the biggest nuisance so far but this has also been manageable in my case. As Pam stated, do your research and get other opinions but realize that whatever decision you make is the right one for you.

Jay Heagerty Welcome Bill. I to am scheduled for a bicuspid valve replacement and I was faced with the same choice ... Read more

Jay Heagerty Welcome Bill. I to am scheduled for a bicuspid valve replacement and I was faced with the same choices. Research all you can and make the decision that is right for you. I have chosen a tissue valve because I am not ready to be on blood thinners the rest of my life. Best of luck with your journey.

Bradley Dunn The only effect my blood thinners have on me is having to go get my blood checked once a month or so. ... Read more

Bradley Dunn The only effect my blood thinners have on me is having to go get my blood checked once a month or so. Other than that I do as I please. The thinners are much better than having to go under the knife again. This surgery is not something i would want to do twice.

The ticking is annoying at times though.

Rose Madura Hi Stephen. I know the choice is difficult. It was one of the most difficult ones of my life. At ... Read more

Rose Madura Hi Stephen. I know the choice is difficult. It was one of the most difficult ones of my life. At age 59, I chose a tissue valve after discussing with two doctors and my surgeon. I have no regrets with the decision at 4 years out. My advice to you is to talk to more than one doctor; do diligent research and make a decision. Whatever decision you make is the right one for you. God bless you. Please keep us posted .

Alex Hunt I'm only three weeks out but Warfarin really hasn't been an issue. The advice I was given was to eat ... Read more

Alex Hunt I'm only three weeks out but Warfarin really hasn't been an issue. The advice I was given was to eat normally and to dose my diet, with the exception of no binge drinking. The ticking was annoying at first but I'm slowly getting used to it.

Recovery from this surgery is no joke, and when added to the increased risk of re-operations I really couldn't justify a tissue valve (although I'm 20 years your junior so I would be looking at multiple re-ops).

There is no perfect choice but take some comfort that anti-coagulation is much less of an issue than many people make it out to be. There is also a chance that you will need It following a tissue valve anyway. Good luck!

Mike Tirrell Like Alex, I am only a few weeks into this but the hardest part about the Warfarin so far is acceptin ... Read more

Mike Tirrell Like Alex, I am only a few weeks into this but the hardest part about the Warfarin so far is accepting the idea that I am on it. Good new is that my dose can come down after 3 months to the 1.5-2.0 range. I am eating normally and will let my dose adjust to my diet. The clicking of my mechanical valve is definitely there but you get used to it after a couple weeks. If I were 10-15 years older, I may have thought more about a tissue valve but at 43, it would have meant too many more valves in my lifetime. As stated above, this surgery and the recovery from it is no joke and I don't want to have to do it again any more than absolutely necessary.

Sara Latina I am scheduled for surgery next month but am doing the Ross procedure. Due to other health issues I w ... Read more

Sara Latina I am scheduled for surgery next month but am doing the Ross procedure. Due to other health issues I was in Coumadin for ten years. I stopped skiing for fear of an accident but still exercised. Even with watching my diet I still struggled to maintain the right INR level so I had to do constant blood tests. I was finally taken off and just put on daily aspirin regimen. It is manageable but because of my past experience and not wanting to give up skiing again I chose not to do mechanical valve. Plus I was worried the ticking would drive me insane.

Rita Savelis Being on anticoagulants for the past 6 years has not stopped me from traveling or doing anything else ... Read more

Rita Savelis Being on anticoagulants for the past 6 years has not stopped me from traveling or doing anything else. I haven't changed my diet or anything else.
But there certainly is an adjustment period at the beginning as it can take awhile to stabilise your dose. I test once a month now. Take care. And i'm sorry you have to go through OHS at such a young age.

Craig Atwater Hi Steven, I had aortic valve replacement surgery just 4 months ago. I was bicuspid, but wasn't diag ... Read more

Craig Atwater Hi Steven, I had aortic valve replacement surgery just 4 months ago. I was bicuspid, but wasn't diagnosed until my surgeon removed my calcified and stemotic existing valve. I chose the tissue valve (bovine) at age 70 after discussing my options with my surgeon and cardiologist -- though I didn't do a lot of research since my replacement was being done on an emergency basis.

Steven Rossiter Thanks, everyone for your openness and comments, after a lot of research, long emails with my doctor ... Read more

Steven Rossiter Thanks, everyone for your openness and comments, after a lot of research, long emails with my doctor and a lengthy phone call with him as well, I have decided to go with the on-x mechanical valve, my reason, as a few you have also expressed, I do not want to go through another surgery in the future if it can be avoided. The On-X valve has the possibility if FDA approved to have a reduced amount of the warfarin blood thinner, or even without warfarin in the future. We also talked about going through the ribs instead of the opening of the chest, and that sounds like a lot less recovery time, so that is the plan. Now I had heard that the mechanical valves make a ticking noise, but did not think much about it, thanks for your input on that. You guys a great thank you again. Best regards Steve