Ok so some of you may or may not know tomorrow I’m going in to prepare for Open Heart Surgery today, then tomorrow I go in for the Operation I am, in all honesty absolutely terrified about it.
I’m actually having Valve Replacement, specifically the one that pumps blood out from my heart to the rest of my body. The options were to have a tissue valve from a pig especially bred for this purpose but the valve has a short life span, but would allow me to lead a more normal life I would expect another operation in 5 - 10 years or a Metal Valve which has a life-time expectancy but requires I take blood thinner for the rest of my life and have other minor constraints like no contact sports and being easily bruised.
My choice was the metal valve, taking blood thinner and not being able to play contact sports was a very small price to pay over putting my self through another risky operation at a later date. It was nice to be given the option though.
One cool result of it is I will tick, only heard in a silent room, but I will! 95% Success rate so I should be ok! Considering that I’m under the average age I think that actually increases my odds to a 99% chance of success.
Why do I have to have it? Well the valve doesn’t close correctly and is causing some blood to flow backwards into the heart and this is making it enlarge gradually. This of course over a long stretch of time would kill me. My heart would become too large, it pumps by contracting.
This whole process has taken approximately 16 months from when I started complaining about Chest Pains, previous illnesses usually means my local GP is pretty quick to refer me to the Hospital if something isn’t quite right.
This will be my forth Operation, thank god for the NHS I think if I had been on Health Insurance in a different country I would be dead already. That is of course slightly nieve since I have no idea how health insurance works.
My aim is to write a few Blog posts from my bed in a few days time, probably try to squeeze out on Sunday if I’m up to it.
I would just like to thank a few people including David for doing such a fine job of looking after me all the time, my parents for also looking after me, being with me, supporting me through this and finally Nexus for also being supportive.
August 2nd, 2008 at 11:10 pm
Dear Anthony,
Best wishes and many prayers. It sounds like a Bicuspid Aortic Valve that you’re talking about. Is that why the valve regurgitates?”backflow” If you have this condition, Thank your Dr. everyday for diagnosing it.Many people are born with this and don’t even know it until they’re in a life threatening emergency or just drop dead from it. I too chose a mechanical valve due to my age and the life long durability of it . Coumadin is something to get used to but not all that big a deal. Just make sure you keep your diet consistant with your dark green leafy vegetables (not too much), don’t drink cranberry juice (it counteracts the coumadin and thins your blood too much), and don’t drink alchohol to excess. (alchohol also thins your blood) Talk to your Cardiologist regarding your diet and how many cocktails you can consume safely. They adjust your coumadin doses based on your health and lifestyle. Oh, some medications change your PT/INR level so always check with Dr. before taking. Even over the counter stuff can alter your levels. Once you recover, you’ll look back and bless the skilled surgeons , nurses and your family that helped you through it all. If you need to email me, feel free. Again, Best wishes on a healthy recovery and a new lease on life.-JMS
August 9th, 2008 at 7:39 am
Thank you for your reply, it was the Aortic Valve in fact. My Doctor referred me to the hospital after I complained of chest pains, I didn’t suffer with any of the other symptoms like shortness of breathe etc. They have thoroughly gone through everything I can and can’t do. Are you in the UK? I’ve never heard it called Coumadin before? Amazingly I was out of hospital and walking around with a bit of discomfort after just four days. Its now been one week and I’m well on the road to recovery. I will be following up this post with another when I’m feeling a bit more up to it. However thanks for your reply its was brilliant. Just what I needed to read.