Lisa McLaughlin - Heart Valve Journal

My Journal

2519 days ago

Shannon Gray, Rose Madura, William Eggers and 4 others reacted to this

Thank you so for the prayers and positive thoughts. I had a mini sternotomy on Monday to replace my aortic valve and was discharged from the hospital on Friday. ...Read more

Thank you so for the prayers and positive thoughts. I had a mini sternotomy on Monday to replace my aortic valve and was discharged from the hospital on Friday. I was in cardiac ICU for about 24 hours then moved to the cardiac step down unit. I remember waking up in ICU with the breathing tube and lots of people around telling me I was doing great. Can't remember how long before the breathing tube came out but once it did I couldn't get enough ice chips. So far I'm doing ok at home although it was a little hard to leave the safe bubble of the cardiac step down unit. Post op appt is Feb 7 and I'm following instructions for walking, incentive spirometer use, etc. It's amazing to look at by incision and know that's all the surgeon needed to replace my aortic valve. Oh, surgeon confirmed it was a bicupsid valve since birth.

JoAnn Lenhart Prayers for your recovery

Jill Krajnovich Glad you are doing well and are home! Wishing you a smooth recovery!

Catie B You were released very quickly! Congrats on your successful surgery and for getting on home!

Lisa McLaughlinposted an update

2563 days ago

1 person reacted to this

I'm having trouble deciding whether to get a mechanical or tissue valve. I'm 52 so the mechanical valve seems like the logical choice...but I'm not sure about ...Read more

I'm having trouble deciding whether to get a mechanical or tissue valve. I'm 52 so the mechanical valve seems like the logical choice...but I'm not sure about being on blood thinner for the rest of my life. Any words of advice? Thanks in advance.

Adam Brown I am 24 hours out of my mitral valve repair now. It went well and no replacement, bu I also struggled ... Read more

Adam Brown I am 24 hours out of my mitral valve repair now. It went well and no replacement, bu I also struggled to decide. During surgery prep and completing last waivers, I changed my mind to tissue. I just didn’t want to deal with cumadin. And I was also thinking that, like my cardiologist said, “Advamcements are constantly being made - maybe if 7-8 years there will be a way to repair the pig valve vs replace.

All that to say, I recognize it is a tough decision. Best wishes.

John Clough Dealing with Coumadin sucks, I just had my AR done in August got a cows valve. My Cardiologist said t ... Read more

John Clough Dealing with Coumadin sucks, I just had my AR done in August got a cows valve. My Cardiologist said the majority of the patients she sees with biologic valves have had them 20 plus years. If there is a issue she said that TAVR would be the method used to replace the valve.

Civita Fahey I'm 56 and I got a cow valve I got the same info as the Adam and John, by the time it needs to be rep ... Read more

Civita Fahey I'm 56 and I got a cow valve I got the same info as the Adam and John, by the time it needs to be replaced the TAVR will be gold standard and you can live life as you want.. I also didn't want to deal with Coumadin.. My surgeon said the same thing.. most of his patients even in the younger age group are going tissue.. he also said if it were him he would go with a tissue as he feels in the next 5 years they wont be any more OHS for valves.. its a big decision but you will the right one for you. good luck.

Andrea Smith Nearly 13 years ago I was 50 and had the same dilemma. Knowing what life would be like if I needed to ... Read more

Andrea Smith Nearly 13 years ago I was 50 and had the same dilemma. Knowing what life would be like if I needed to take warfarin, my partner and I made the decision to go with a tissue valve even knowing that it would need to be replaced. In March this year I had the re-do. I have to be honest, it was much more complicated this time and I spent twice as long in intensive care, twice as long in hospital and twice as long recovering. However, I now have a bovine valve which has been inserted with the potential to be replaced by the TAVI method. I know that you won’t want to go through this again but my GP pointed out to me that I had 12 years of not worrying about the blood thinners. By the way, although it’s been a long haul this time, I now feel back to normal. I hope this helps. I know it’s a difficult decision, and I wish you the best.

Lisa McLaughlin Thank you all, your comments are very helpful!

Toni Z Hi, I’m struggling with the same concern. I was told since my heart is small to begin with, I’m n ... Read more

Toni Z Hi, I’m struggling with the same concern. I was told since my heart is small to begin with, I’m not a candidate for TAVR later on. So at 42 yrs I would be looking at possibly 2 more open heart surgery if tissue valve average 10 yrs. Again, I know it could last longer but there is no guarantee. So for me, I’m leaning to mechanical. Not looking forward to Coumadin. :(

Rita Savelis Coumadin is not that big a deal despite the fact that there are a lot of scare stories around from th ... Read more

Rita Savelis Coumadin is not that big a deal despite the fact that there are a lot of scare stories around from those who are not on it.
I have 2 mechanical valves, and a pacemaker. I had surgery at age 54 and have been on anticoagulants for almost 3 years. Every drug takes some getting used to... as does having OHS! But then you get on with it. Life is never the same, but then it's not the same anyway.
In a perfect world we wouldn't have decisions to make with no perfect answers. One never knows what the other decision would have brought. So any decision you make will be the right one for you at this time.
And one really can not know what the future will bring. There are many conflicting opinions.
So you have to take a deep breath and go with your gut and then not look back.
I feel for you at this hard time.

(If you look at my old posts, I write about living with anticoagulants, amongst other things....)

Patrick Loy Hi Lisa - just 8 weeks out the other side myself, and this was a big decision for me, my wife Ruth di ... Read more

Patrick Loy Hi Lisa - just 8 weeks out the other side myself, and this was a big decision for me, my wife Ruth did all the research, and we opted for the Perimount model 2900 Aortic Tissue valve (Bovine) - I am really glad I did, but it is worth doing all the research, I believe ( could be wrong - double check ) but my cardiologist said whenever the tissue valve may need work hopefully in 20 years + there may be an easier way as opposed to full open heart surgery. Again you have to do the research and be sure for you.

Bonnie Stone-Hope Very tough decision for you, especially at your age. I am older, at age 69 years old. So, tissue va ... Read more

Bonnie Stone-Hope Very tough decision for you, especially at your age. I am older, at age 69 years old. So, tissue valve is my choice, if repair cannot be done.

Rose Madura It is a tough decision and a very personal one. I was on the border and at age 59 I went with a tiss ... Read more

Rose Madura It is a tough decision and a very personal one. I was on the border and at age 59 I went with a tissue (Edwards Magna) and I don't regret it. While I'm not on any blood thinners, I do know young people (40's) who have been on Coumadin and when I was trying to decide, they did tell me it was easy to manage and one person in particular is very active. As Rita said, it
is manageable. At any rate, I'm sure you will make the right decision for you. Keep us posted and best wishes.