Phil's Guestbook

Phil Gerber  So I also have a bicuspid aortic valve and prior to surgery regurgitation was moderate to severe. I was 39 years old and I figured that if I could get 10 years out of a repaired valve it would be worth it. I had to have a plan B going into surgery as Dr David said they won't 100% know it's repairable until once they get in there and fix and test it. My plan B would have been the On-x mechanical valve. The pig valve was not a great option for me because of my age.
I haven't had an echo since July but post surgery there has been basically nil to trace regurgitation. My 1 year follow up echo will be early May. From what I understand the repairability of the valve has a lot to do with the geometry of it and how calcified it may be. A bicuspid valve that has more of an equal split between leaflets has the better chance of long term durability (which wasn't really working in my favour since my valve had two leaflets fused together).
My thought process was that if I can buy some time and keep my own tissue that there may be better options available by the time I need another surgery. On-x valve has not been tested for very long at this point and new surgical techniques are being development all the time.
The fact that I am on zero meds right now and back participating in sports, I feel like I made the right decision for me. I would be happy to try to answer any other questions you may have. You can also email at philhgerber@gmail.com

David Knight  Thank you Phil. What surgical approach did they use on you? Full sternotomy or mini?

My research also also has uncovered that with any valve replacement the hemodynamics change and aren't as ideal than if you can keep your own tissue. (larger opening vs the slight narrowing of a replacement). How was your recovery?

Phil Gerber  They did the full sternotomy, probably about a 7" scar. Recovery for most part wasn't terrible. First few days were obviously not the greatest and had a small bout of afib the 2nd day after surgery. Felt very weak and tired but they had me up walking with a walker about 30 hrs after surgery. I was expecting pain to be a lot worse and they kept encouraging me to use the morphine button but I didn't feel I needed it. I found that initially it was extreme muscle pain across my back/ shoulder blades that presented more pain and discomfort then anything else (likely due to how they must strap the arms back for the sternotomy). Home in 5 days after and by then I was doing short walks without an aid. Sleeping and getting in/out of bed was probably the worst part, had to sleep propped up to avoid less pain getting out of bed in morning. Everything seemed to improve gradually and patience is the key. They told me take things week to week as opposed to day to day when evaluating recovery, as some days you wouldn't always feel as good as day before.

Phil Gerber  thanks guys... I'm overdue for a update. Surgery went very well on the 13th and I was discharged from Hospital on the 18th. I've been home for just over a week and feeling great. No pain, in fact i sometimes even forget i had the surgery not long ago. Starting to go a little stir crazy at home, but that is to be expected. Have been walking frequently (when weather cooperates) and pretty much at a normal pace now.