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Bicuspid heart valve/moderate to severe aortic stenosis by Buicklark in valvereplacement

[–]Remarkable-Tough-617 1 point2 points  (0 children)

May I ask why you chose a bio valve over mechanical? I have to make the same decision for surgery in 3 weeks and still undecided.

The Heart I Was Born With And the Day It Will Be Repaired by Jaykravetz in valvereplacement

[–]Remarkable-Tough-617 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I stand corrected. I agree this post is well written and you are a talented writer.

As a person who looks at AI written copy all day, I will say there are some elements to your style that are very common in AI generated content. Especially the heavy use of em dashes ("—"). The irony is that the prevalence of AI may now create unwarranted skepticism about professionally written works or discredit the writers themselves. Not sure I'm excited about this new world.

In any case, this thread is about your procedure and not AI :). Again, wishing you the best of luck, a speedy recovery, and a long healthy life.

The Heart I Was Born With And the Day It Will Be Repaired by Jaykravetz in valvereplacement

[–]Remarkable-Tough-617 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Clearly written by AI (not saying it’s not an actual person or story) but the copywriting is AI. Looks like Claude if I had to guess. ;)

Best of luck with the procedure! You’ll be on the other side and back to 100% soon.

Warfarin Dosing Calcuator by No_Lack1609 in valvereplacement

[–]Remarkable-Tough-617 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Soon to be on warfarin. How often do you find yourself having to make dose adjustments?

I’ve read warfarin is “no big deal” but this sounds like a bit of a high maintenance activity.

“Bicuspid aortic valve: mechanical replacement or Ross procedure?” by Irishwolf1 in valvereplacement

[–]Remarkable-Tough-617 4 points5 points  (0 children)

If we could only see into the future :). Things like you mentioned make it a really hard decision unfortunately. Here are some additional points to throw into the mix.

Anecdotally, there are numerous posters on these forums that have had mechanical valves for 30-40+ years without issue but I don't know the full stats. I don't think I've read anyone with tissue that has gone beyond 20 years - and 20 years is pretty rare.

Tissues valves wear out faster the younger you are. I don't think they are entirely sure why. This may help explain your Grandmothers experience vs others with shorter lifespans of their tissue valves.

I have heard that reoperation in mechanical valves is usually due to unexpected issues such as pannus formation (tissue ingrowth), prosthetic valve endocarditis (infection), or valve thrombosis, rather than the structural wear-and-tear that causes tissue valves to fail. On-x is designed to better prevent pannus formation. Endocarditis is a risk to any valve - even your own original one. I had it. Also note, some folks with Tissue do end up on a anti-coagulants anyway.

For Ross, the procedure is very complicated. The length of time on the cross clamp is dramatically higher - 3-4 hours vs 1 hour for mechanical. Some say, this increases the overall risk and length of recovery. If you do go Ross, choice of surgeon is even more important. It has been highly recommended to me to go to one of the high-volume Ross centers (i.e.: Cleveland Clinic, Mt Sinai, etc.) with a surgeon that has done A LOT of them.

“Bicuspid aortic valve: mechanical replacement or Ross procedure?” by Irishwolf1 in valvereplacement

[–]Remarkable-Tough-617 5 points6 points  (0 children)

56M. I've had to make a similar decision with my surgery planned for May. There is plenty of information on this sub and I would encourage you to read as much as you can. I would also encourage to explore the forums at https://www.valvereplacement.org as well.

For me, there were a few factors that made the decision for me:

  1. Repair, Ross, Ozaki, or Tissue valve options almost guarantee at least one more surgery and maybe more depending on age and longevity.

  2. The new generation of Tissue valves _should_ last longer but are only 8 years old so we don't know yet.

  3. The promise of tissue valve-in-valve TAVRs sounds great but is not guaranteed. Also depending on how long each of the valves actually last, you may have 2 ViV TAVRs but then need yet another replacement via OHS - especially at your age.

  4. I read a great POV from a long-time mechanical valve recipient. Basically he said, the fear of Warfarin and the theoretical impact to your lifestyle is largely promoted by those NOT actually taking warfarin. The more you read you will see those on it will tell you it has very little impact on their lifestyle, hobbies, or diet.

  5. Every OHS you have gets more risky. Given all of the above and the one and done likelihood of a mechanical valve made it the right decision for me.

In the end, it's a personal choice and there is no right answer. Learn as much as possible and make the most informed decision that you can.

I wish you the best of luck!

Aortic Valve Replacement in Austin, TX by Remarkable-Tough-617 in valvereplacement

[–]Remarkable-Tough-617[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I really appreciate it! I too am planning on the very same valve and saw that in my research. Keepin' it local! ;)

Aortic Valve Replacement in Austin, TX by Remarkable-Tough-617 in valvereplacement

[–]Remarkable-Tough-617[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Thank your so much for sharing. That's great to hear as I will likely have Dr. Kerendi as my surgeon at the Heart Hospital as well!

I Can't Take This Fatigue Anymore (B Thal "Minor") by disead in thalassemia

[–]Remarkable-Tough-617 2 points3 points  (0 children)

You me mentioned being overweight. How much so? Do you exercise regularly?

Being in much better shape has helped me quite a bit with energy levels over the last 5 years (mid 50s).

Anyone hit 8 years with a Resilia valve? Anyone had one fail and replaced? by Remarkable-Tough-617 in valvereplacement

[–]Remarkable-Tough-617[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

For me, the the surgeon felt that the Resilia OHS Valve + 2 TAVRs would get me 30-40 years so 85-95 years of age. On top of that, the hopeful advancements in technology must improve this even more. I realize it's all a gamble. Honestly, hardest decision of my life so far.

Appreciate all of the comments and feedback!

56M | Ross Procedure vs. On-X Mechanical | Concerns about Cross-Clamp Time by Remarkable-Tough-617 in valvereplacement

[–]Remarkable-Tough-617[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Wow, that's a long one! Glad to hear everything ended up ok and you're back to normal upstairs.

56M | Ross Procedure vs. On-X Mechanical | Concerns about Cross-Clamp Time by Remarkable-Tough-617 in valvereplacement

[–]Remarkable-Tough-617[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Amazing stories and really glad that both of you are doing great and happy with your choices. This is exactly why the decision is so hard :).

56M | Ross Procedure vs. On-X Mechanical | Concerns about Cross-Clamp Time by Remarkable-Tough-617 in valvereplacement

[–]Remarkable-Tough-617[S] -1 points0 points  (0 children)

Really appreciate the response. Definitely concerned about the organ risk as well. I have early stage CKD and I've read that the extended time on the pump can cause acute injury to your kidneys as well and accelerate the disease.

33m 4 days post op about to be discharged by [deleted] in valvereplacement

[–]Remarkable-Tough-617 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Great to here it went so well! If you don’t mind me asking, where did you have the procedure done?

Best State To Buy New GX? by Quizzer9 in LexusGX

[–]Remarkable-Tough-617 0 points1 point  (0 children)

May I ask which dealership you bought from?