Joh n's Journal

Robert Frederick  I had a mitral valve repair with the robot at Princeton Baptist in Birmingham, AL. I understand that a repair is better that a replace if that i possible for your situation.

Michael Meyer  John:
I am not aware that mitral valves can be replaced minimally invasively. There is research going on in this area. The mitra clip is used via catheter for patients that are higher risk for open heart surgery. Per Robert's comment, a repair is much preferred, there is much data to support a repair.

https://www.heart-valve-surgery.com/mitraclip/
http://www.mitraclip.com/

Michael Meyer  Here is some more data, you should be able to get access to the research journals at the local hospital.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21269643

Cathy Slipski  I am actually schedule for minimal invasive surgery to repair my mitral valve. Not all surgeons can perform this and thankfully if everything goes as planned he will do mine that way. I signed a consent for either or depending on him my anatomy is

Sophia Ridley  Early on in my discussion with the surgeon I asked for minimal but he said to repair my mitral valve he needed to do open. I just had to go with his judgement. The recovery is longer but open surgery hasn't been as bad as I expected.

Liz Burroughs  I had a minimally invasive mitral valve repair on 10/26/15. I had a right side incision that is only 2 inches long. I'm grateful that I was able to have this type of surgery.

Michael Bronshteyn  Hi Jon. My surgeon recommended tissue valve vs. mechanical one. The reason was that mechanical valve would require me to be on coumadin. I am 48 years. Prior to surgery I played ice hockey ( still planning to return to it ), table tennis, was doing all kind of workouts. He said that with my lifestyle I would be better without comandin. On the other hand, mechanical valve suppose to last longer than tissue valve and more than likely I will need mine replaced in 15-20 years. My surgeon was not concerned about it. My cardiologist also confirmed that tissue valve would be a better option for me.

Meredith Bray  Whatever you decide will be best for you. Some people don't want to be on anti-caogulant therapy ("blood thinners" or warfarin/Coumidin), some people don't want animal tissue in them. Every person is different, and valve choice is personal. No one is any better than the other. I'm 44, and I have a mechanical valve. It ticks like a watch, and I take warfarin every night. I've never had a bleeding issue, and I haven't changed my diet.
But that's just my experience. Your mileage may vary!
-Meredith

  There are definite pros and cons to both. Read My Story and it will give you my family experiences with both types of valves. Of course this is only my family experience and not representative of the larger group experiences. I just had AVR via mini sternotomy on 12/1. I am 40. I chose a tissue valve (bovine) instead of mechanical. I take one 81mg baby aspirin daily now. Now, I am a little weirded out that I have a cow valve and have not eaten beef since my replacement! My surgeon implanted a valve that was on the larger end for my opening with the plan to input a valve via transcatheter when I need the next replacement. He said this is where the technology is headed. I am hoping for advancements with technology (human valve grown out of DNA, etc.). Best wishes to you and your decision!!

Patricia Garcia  Hi John and this is a tough decision. I had a tissue valve put in after my repaired valve failed. I had in done in the Cleveland Clinic and was told it would last 16+ years, but is failed in 8 years. Now I have a mechanical valve and I am 45 years old. All valves can fail and so can my mechanical valve. My surgeon told me that my valve will last my life as long as I take care of it with monitoring my blood levels. That is key to prevent bleeds. There are many athletic people on blood thinner. You need to ask yourself if you can go through this surgery again. Tissue valves inevitably wear out no matter what at different times for everyone. This will be effected by many factors, so no one is the same. Activity level, person's health, stress, and the overall quality of the valve. Just do all the research you can on both and make the decision that is right for you.

Joh n De La Torre-Ugarte  i love this site. Thank you for all the info provided. I have some time to do research and think things through a bit. At the moment, since survival rate is generally high even at an older rate, I may end up getting a tissue valve. Though I still want to know what life would be like taking coumadin if I were to opt for a mechanical one. I am a pretty active person and love to workout. Although I do imagine I'd have to change my activity and workout intensity a good bit. Its good to know the success stories either way. Too many other sites list nothing but horror stories and everyone starts becoming a doctor at that point. Which i will admit kind of freaked me out. Wife says I started to obsess about it. She may be right lol. Anyhow thank you and will definitely buy the book today

Clay Rowe  I have bovine for a year now. Oh...I left an answer to a question about post-op gym you left in my guestbook. I don't know if this site notifies you when there's a response. Also...I might have sent this twice. Ha!

Joh n De La Torre-Ugarte  thank you. a lot to take in and process. but at the moment I'm researching best hospitals and surgeons in nyc. I'm currently with Cornell Presbyterian in NYC. Have heard good things about them though.

Enrique K  Welcome John, I recommend you purchase Adams Book it will give you valuable information regarding heart valve surgery.

Meredith Bray  It's scary, it's a big deal, and it's manageable, one step at a time. There's a wealth of resources on this site. Ask all the questions you want, we love to talk about ourselves and our experiences.
-Meredith

Elaine Cutri  I agree with Enrique. Adam's book is a good place to start.
It sounds like you are in the right place, NYC, for a choice of several good surgeons and hospitals. You can start your search on this site in the Surgeon Finder or Heart Hospitals. You will also see other heart friends comments and questions.
I'm a little confused between your discussion of Mitral vs Aortic issues, but I'm sure that can be sorted out soon. Welcome to the group. Hope we can be of support!