About Me (In My Own Words)
I am actually the wife of the Valve Replacement Patient and I am writing this since my husband Dean is not into social media much. Dean is a fit younger looking very active 64 year old. He was diagnosed with Murmur, Afib and mild aortic valve regurgitation in February 2022. At the time he had symptom's and it was Hypertensive Emergency at the ER. Symptoms quickly resolved after he started blood pressure meds, lasix and blood thinner. He still has no symptoms even now and is feeling well. However during Dean's annual Echocardiogram in November 2023 he was diagnosed with now severe regurgitation Aortic and Mitral valves. Which was complete surprise to us since he is feeling so well and we have been hiking at higher elevation, sailing, snorkeling and traveling a lot. He works hard physically daily in his Home Renovation business. Angiogram was done on December 8th and it was confirmed by second Cardiologist that he needs Open Heart Surgery to replace mitral and aortic valves. We were told it must be Open Heart surgery because of 2 valves being replaced and lesser invasive surgery would not be possible. He still has no restrictions and keeps being active and working hard. We were told cause is weak collagen in his valves which caused prolapse. Something he was born with. He has no clogged arteries. His surgery will be on February 7th 2024 and Dean's surgeon is Dr. Serna Chief Heart Surgeon at Kaiser Permanente Fontana Hospital and has 29 years of experience. We met Dean's 2nd very experienced surgeon Dr. Mudge. 39 years of experience and will be doing the surgery together with Dr. Serna and likely they will also do ablation procedure for his Afib. They will try to repair his Mitral valve if possible, if not possible he will get a new Mitral Valve. Dean's surgeons will be using Abbott Mechanical Valves at Kaiser Permanente Fontana Medical Center due to high quality and many good outcomes. They explained in detail why these particular valves are their preference. Abbott Regent Aortic Valve and Abbott Masters Mitral Valve. His insurance is with Kaiser HOA and we can't choose a more renowned surgeon or hospital but now feel very comfortable with Dean's surgery team after meeting them. His team does 500 valve surgeries each year at the Kaiser Permanente Fontana Cardiac Surgery Center.
More Info About Me & My Heart
More About Me
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I am from:
Lake Elsinore, California
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My surgery date is:
February 7, 2024
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I was diagnosed with:
Aortic Regurgitation
Mitral Regurgitation
Atrial Fibrillation
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My surgery was:
Aortic Valve Replacement
Mitral Valve Replacement
Mitral Valve Repair
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My surgeon is:
Dr. Dr. Daniel Lee Serna Jr.
