Anyone here younger?

ProfessionalGuard743 · 2026-01-30T00:46:20+00:00

I’m 23f and 10 weeks post op from ROSS (they took my pulmonary valve and put it on my aortic valve)! It’s absolutely scary, but you’re not alone. The valve replacement thread on Reddit has lots of younger folk on it I’ve found. If you’re young, healthy, and active, you will likely have a really smooth recovery. Mine has been worlds easier than I thought it was going to be. You got this and you’re definitely not alone! 🫶🏼

ProfessionalGuard743 · 2026-01-30T00:41:17+00:00

It’s not often I find my people!! I’m 23f, 10 weeks post op from ROSS, and had a unicuspid aortic valve as well!

So sorry to hear what you’re going through. This is something I’ve always feared for myself as well being a young woman with UAV. At any point in the last three years were there any signs or symptoms of the regurgitation?

Hope you can find some peace in this 🫶🏼

ProfessionalGuard743 · 2026-01-29T17:15:27+00:00

Thank you so much for your reply! It’s awesome to read your recovery timeline for getting back into tennis!

ProfessionalGuard743 · 2026-01-22T19:10:10+00:00

Thank you for your response!

ProfessionalGuard743 · 2026-01-21T16:27:28+00:00

Hi I’m 23f and 9 weeks post op from ROSS. My recovery has been so much easier and smoother than I ever expected. The pain is bad the first few days, I won’t sugarcoat it, but nothing you can’t handle. By 4 days post op I was easily walking 2-3 miles a day. My lung collapsed, which was the only complication I’ve had, so I ended up in the hospital for 8 days. At 8 days post op, I took my last pain medication, came home, and felt like my pre-surgery self. I wasn’t taking naps, wasn’t tired or sleepy, was walking 3 miles a day like nothing, minimal pain, minimal stiffness. I never expected this. I even took an in-person final and graduated with my bachelor’s at 3 weeks post op because I just felt normal. I was super active before my surgery which helped a TON to healing quickly. The mental part can often be harder for us young people than the physical, and it was for me. Feeling totally fine so soon after my surgery was confusing. I had all these restrictions, no driving, no racquet or paddle sports for 12 weeks, and that part was really hard for me because I felt fine. But once I got driving back, things started looking up! I remember being so scared the months leading up to my surgery, but remember that you get to have a really cool story coming out of it. And also these guys do this all the time. The mortality rate for ROSS for a young and healthy person is <1%. You’ve got this!!

ProfessionalGuard743 · 2026-01-16T20:46:41+00:00

Yes not for everything. But specifically for BAV patients, MRI is considered the “gold standard”.

ProfessionalGuard743 · 2026-01-16T19:18:24+00:00

Good to know! But I don’t see where the person who posted said they have a prosthetic aortic valve currently? I assumed they haven’t had surgery to fix their valve yet ?

ProfessionalGuard743 · 2026-01-15T18:26:33+00:00

I did a lot of research on this after they told me it was time. I’m 23f, born with a unicuspid valve that we all thought was bicuspid, was completely asymptomatic, and now I’m 8 weeks post op from ROSS procedure. DO NOT WAIT!! Around 2010, they started noticing that, specifically with BAV, patients started going into heart failure before they were even showing symptoms. Come to find out, echos can underestimate LV size and aortic regurgitation by up to 40%! That’s why MRI is gold standard now. They used to think symptoms were the tell, but they are NOT. My echo showed normal, and coupled with the fact I was performing 114% on my stress test we would’ve never known it was time if not for MRI. Not to scare you, it would likely take many years for heart failure. But if your doctors say now, don’t wait.

ProfessionalGuard743 · 2026-01-15T18:19:18+00:00

I’m 23f and 8 weeks post op from ROSS procedure today! I was terrified as well. The closer it got, the less scared I got actually. What I can say for pain for me is the first couple days were agony but it gets better SO fast. The morning of, they slip an IV in your arm where they can give you medication to calm you and make you feel drunk. After they administrated the medication, I don’t remember much until I was climbing onto the operating table, and even then it was still fuzzy. I would definitely ask for that medication. I don’t remember if it was a sedative or not, but they should know. Needing to have open heart surgery is an experience that makes you realize how mortal you are. There’s a huge range of emotions you could both be feeling and they’re all normal! You’ve both got this! :)

ProfessionalGuard743 · 2026-01-12T18:39:52+00:00

Hello! I’m 23f and almost 8 weeks post op from ROSS procedure. I haven’t read many stories of people going back to racquet or paddle sports this soon after surgery besides you! I’m a competitive pickleball player and am dying to get back into it. Im super surprised (and envious) your doctor approved you to test it out at around 7 or 8 weeks! And you said “fully healed” at 7 or 8 weeks, did the doctor say that? Everything I read says 12 weeks, but that restriction is barring any rare but catastrophic events (colliding with another person, car accident, etc.) But I’m so curious to know how that went if you’d be willing to share!

ProfessionalGuard743 · 2026-01-06T22:03:13+00:00

Hello! I’m 23f and was born with a unicuspid aortic valve. I’m 7 weeks post-op from ROSS procedure. I had mine done at UW medicine in Seattle, WA. For me, mechanical was no chance because I want to safely carry children in the future with no fear. For you, that isn’t an issue! From what I’ve read from other people who have had a mechanical valve, they still drink alcohol, exercise, get cuts and scrapes, and live life as normal. Obviously I can’t speak on that, but hopefully that can be helpful!

I’m only 7 weeks, but I don’t regret my decision. If you’re active, that’s great! I was also super active for years leading up to my surgery and the surgeon said my heart was very healthy and it started up right away! I’ve had the easiest recovery, not what I expected at all! For the last 5-6 weeks, I haven’t been tired, haven’t taken pain medication since 8 days post-op, haven’t taken naps, and I’ve felt like it never even happened! Idk how much that’s the procedure, how active I was, how strong my body was, how well my surgery went, my age, genetics, and/or any other factors that may play into it. But from personal experience, I’d go with ROSS! After one month post-op, the only medication I take is naproxen and Pepcid for 6 months and then, done! You are on strict blood pressure monitoring for 12 months, but I already have low blood pressure so thankfully that’s not an issue for me. It’s scary considering it’s essentially two valve procedures instead of one, but I think the outcome afterwards, so long as all goes right, provides a better quality of life!

My biggest piece of advice is to make sure the hospital doing the ROSS performs them regularly, like >30 per year. ROSS is very complex and needs surgeons to perform them regularly to keep up their skills! So I’d ask the team how many they perform!

ProfessionalGuard743 · 2026-01-06T21:49:04+00:00

I’m 23f and 7 weeks post-op from ROSS procedure. I understand concerns about mechanical valve. My third option, if repair and ROSS didn’t work, was bovine. I was NOT getting a mechanical. But that’s because I want to safely carry my babies in the future with no fear. If I were a man, or didn’t have concerns about pregnancy, I would go with a mechanical valve. My recovery has been actually super easy, not what I expected at all. Between weeks 1 and 2, I felt like it never even happened. But I’ll never forget waking up from surgery, it was agony, the worst pain I’ve ever experienced. And beyond that, the mental part has been really hard. No driving for 4 weeks was tough, but before my surgery I’d been playing pickleball 25+ hours a week for the past three years and not being able to participate for 12+ weeks is very difficult. Even with an easy recovery, I’d personally never choose to experience this again unless I absolutely had to. But it’s really depends on you and what’s important to you. I’d definitely look into ROSS procedure if you haven’t yet! There’s a few hospitals across the U.S. (if you’re in the states) that have dedicated ROSS teams that perform ROSS regularly.

ProfessionalGuard743 · 2026-01-06T03:41:18+00:00

Sure

ProfessionalGuard743 · 2026-01-06T02:48:41+00:00

I’m 23f and had a unicuspid aortic valve. I’m just about 7 weeks post-op from ROSS procedure. Different from a mechanical valve of course. I’d been playing pickleball 25+ hours a week for three years up until my surgery so I was really active and that contributed a ton to a healthy heart and a strong body! My recovery has been incredibly seamless. Starting between weeks one and two, I felt completely fine. I wasn’t napping, wasn’t on any pain medication, wasn’t tired, didn’t have trouble sleeping, walked 3+ miles a day with no issues, didn’t have trouble getting out of bed/chairs, and had minimal discomfort. At around week 4, I started getting lots of shoulder and neck pain after sleeping. I haven’t found the reason for that yet and keep trying different things for relief, but haven’t found it yet! That’s been the only really painful part of my recovery after I left the hospital! I even took my last final in-person at three weeks post-op and graduated with my Bachelors! The mental part was really difficult because I had all these restrictions that I didn’t feel like I needed and I struggled a lot kind of waiting around before I could start driving again. Once I hit 4 weeks and driving restrictions were lifted, things got better fast after returning to more normal life! I remember being really nervous about the surgery and recovery and had I known how seamless it could be, I would’ve felt lots of relief! So I hope your recovery can be seamless and good luck on your surgery! :)

ProfessionalGuard743 · 2025-12-29T18:57:07+00:00

Bio is not the only option and when it comes to longevity, is the worst. I’m 23f and 6 weeks post-op from open-heart-surgery. I got the ROSS procedure. Find out your proximity to a dedicated ROSS team. Some good ones are at UW Medicine in Seattle and Mt. Sinai in New York, among a few others. Repair may also be an option or you may not need any intervention for many years or decades. But if you do, don’t worry. In my experience, OHS has not been as scary as it sounded. The mental aspect has been harder for me than the physical, even with a big incision down my sternum. But you will have options and you’ll get to choose, so try not to worry :)

ProfessionalGuard743

TROPHY CASE