Hi my heart friend. I am survived from surgery that I had last Friday :). Thanks for all your support and prayers :).
The feeling after surgery as I read ...Read more
Hi my heart friend. I am survived from surgery that I had last Friday :). Thanks for all your support and prayers :).
The feeling after surgery as I read a lot in others story like have an accident with truck! I spent 4 days in ICU and 2 days in floor. The reason for longer ICU time, was because there was not room available in the floor!
I surgeon first tried to fix my aortic valve, but was not successful. Then he put cow tissue valve. My dr put for 3 months blood thinner since for young patient still there is chance that body consider tissue valve as non -tissue object. My pain after 7 days is lower and take less pain killer. Like today, I have taken 4 pills of acetaminophen 500.
My most of the pain is my back and left shoulder because of long time sergury and laying on operation surface. The most problem that I have now when in sleeping time, I wake up with shaky body and cold sweat! Wondering if anybody have had this problem after surgery?
Please feel free to ask questions about my experiment before or after surgery, l would love to share my experiment.
Love,
Malihe
Rita Savelis Hello Malihe. I can relate to the feeling of being hit by a truck! I'm glad you are out of hospital n ... Read more
Rita Savelis Hello Malihe. I can relate to the feeling of being hit by a truck! I'm glad you are out of hospital now. Sweating and feeling hot and cold are common after heart surgery as your body temperature settings have been disturbed. One can have lots of strange side effects. I remember being very cold all the time.
Wishing you an easy recovery.
Henry Brouwer Hi Malihe, I had similar issues the first week with sweating and then feeling cold, but now not so mu ... Read more
Henry Brouwer Hi Malihe, I had similar issues the first week with sweating and then feeling cold, but now not so much. I also have more pain in my shoulder than actual incision, but quite manageable. Prayers for a speedy recovery.
Terrie Hodges Malihe...good to see your post this morning💚my hope is we can all have our questions answered so w ... Read more
Terrie Hodges Malihe...good to see your post this morning💚my hope is we can all have our questions answered so we won't feel anxious...I look forward to reading more of your story and pray for healing quickly and uncomplicated❤
Marie Myers My back and shoulders were very sore also. I was constantly asking my husband to rub my back!. Had a ... Read more
Marie Myers My back and shoulders were very sore also. I was constantly asking my husband to rub my back!. Had a little bit of the shakiness . It is getting better as is the back muscle soreness. Prayers for a speedy recovery!
Meredith Bray Back pain will go away with good posture - stand up very straight, shoulders back, head up. And suppo ... Read more
Meredith Bray Back pain will go away with good posture - stand up very straight, shoulders back, head up. And support your head while resting in a chair. Hope it feels better soon!
Malihe ghadimi Thanks all for your comments and prayers. They are really useful to understand these are are normal! ... Read more
Malihe ghadimi Thanks all for your comments and prayers. They are really useful to understand these are are normal!
Malihe ghadimi Terrie, I pray for you to have (had) an excellent operation and easy recovery.
Hi my heart friends. Tomorrow is the day of my surgery. As my surgeon told me, he first hard to try repair my aortic valve but if it s not successful he will ...Read more
Hi my heart friends. Tomorrow is the day of my surgery. As my surgeon told me, he first hard to try repair my aortic valve but if it s not successful he will put tissue valve.
I have lots of stress and anxiety!
Any suggestions or advise for packing things for the hospital?
I need lots of prayers :)
Marie Myers I found an eye mask to block out light and ear plugs for quiet really helped me .It was hard to sleep ... Read more
Marie Myers I found an eye mask to block out light and ear plugs for quiet really helped me .It was hard to sleep in the hospital. Prayers going your way for a smooth surgery and recovery.
Matthew Russo Positive thoughts coming your way for surgery tomorrow Malihe. Trust in the ability of your medical t ... Read more
Matthew Russo Positive thoughts coming your way for surgery tomorrow Malihe. Trust in the ability of your medical team.
Cathleen Weed Prayers for you and your surgery ❤️ Eye mask and ear plugs if you want to sleep at all 💗
Douglas Williams For when you leave the hospital, shoes that you can slip on easily. I had shoes that needed to be pu ... Read more
Douglas Williams For when you leave the hospital, shoes that you can slip on easily. I had shoes that needed to be pulled on, not a good choice! Good luck with your surgery and rehab.
Terrie Hodges Prayers and healing light coming your way...I follow soon behind you...this community cheers for you! ... Read more
Terrie Hodges Prayers and healing light coming your way...I follow soon behind you...this community cheers for you!💟
Joan Sheehan Good luck! I brought a box of tissues, hand cleaner, my own soap and shampoo for when I was able to s ... Read more
Joan Sheehan Good luck! I brought a box of tissues, hand cleaner, my own soap and shampoo for when I was able to shower, my husband's boxers (to wear when I was taking a walk) and pj's that buttoned up the front for when I could get out of the johnnie.
Jane Higginbotham This information has really helped me. I am just getting started. I'll have my catherization and TEE ... Read more
Jane Higginbotham This information has really helped me. I am just getting started. I'll have my catherization and TEE on Wed. To get all my records ready to send to Mount Sinai in NY for surgery in May. I live in Jupiter, Fl. All of the positive information is so helpful. Prayers that you recover feeling stronger than ever.
Hi every body. I'd like to add some update and ask some questions. I just talk to my surgeon on the phone. He mentioned there is another option for me that ...Read more
Hi every body. I'd like to add some update and ask some questions. I just talk to my surgeon on the phone. He mentioned there is another option for me that he will try fist to repair my own valve. The life of fixing valve may be 10 to 15 years as he mentioned. But if he can't to do it, he will put tissue valve as I asked. He said the life of tissue valve is between 5 to 10 years and I need to be monitored every year to check the health of the valve. I was wondering if someone has been done the repairing the AORTIC valve? It seems to me the life of repairing the own aortic valve is more than tissue valve.
https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Hans_Joachim_Schaefers/publication/26706271_Aortic_valve_repair_leads_to_a_low_incidence_of_valve-related_complications/links/5415dc5d0cf2788c4b35b889.pdf
and
http://www.valvesymposium.com/
Steven A Husted i know in my research i read somewhere that a bovine tissue valve lasted 31 years so if someone has l ... Read more
Steven A Husted i know in my research i read somewhere that a bovine tissue valve lasted 31 years so if someone has lasted that long maybe i can to and maybe you can to it depends on your life style and your body makeup we are all different so i hope i will be maybe 30 years and then a TAVR or at least a mini and this ohs was really not that bad i could do it again if i had to
10 days reminds to my surgery. I feel stress and anxiety. Some thing that make my mind busy, if I survive from the operation,how long after that I feel comfortable ...Read more
10 days reminds to my surgery. I feel stress and anxiety. Some thing that make my mind busy, if I survive from the operation,how long after that I feel comfortable enough to start my work. I am PhD student and basically what I am dong is research and sitting behind the computer. Am I able to sit behind the computer after 2 weeks? Other thing is how
anesthesia medicine effects on the memory? I am afraid that after the surgery, I forget some of my work and research! Is anybody having these kind of experience that lost memory or take time to remember things?
Marie Myers Fear is normal when you are facing surgery. If it helps you to take a medication to relax you or hel ... Read more
Marie Myers Fear is normal when you are facing surgery. If it helps you to take a medication to relax you or help you sleep at night, that is a good option. Talk to your doctor; they can help you. Anesthesia has improved tremendously since I started Nurse Anesthesia School in 1977. The monitors and the medications are so much better now. If you would like to talk to the Anesthesiologist or Nurse Anesthetist at your hospital, I am sure they would be happy to put your fears to rest. I had an aortic valve replacement and ascending aneurysm repair 1 week ago. I am back typing on my computer , and I plan to be back giving anesthesia in a month or so. I hope that helps!
Ellen Leng In most cases, the surgeons don't want you back to work for at least 4 weeks. Though you don't feel t ... Read more
Ellen Leng In most cases, the surgeons don't want you back to work for at least 4 weeks. Though you don't feel that what you are doing for work is that much "work", you may be surprised that it takes some time for your body to recover. This is a BIG surgery, talk to your surgeon about time off recommendations.
As for the memory issues, not so much the anesthesia, but being on the heart-lung bypass that can cause more issues. I'm not certain that there are things that the patient can do to avoid these issues, other than being in your best possible health at the time. I took some crosswords and Sudoku to the hospital and managed to eke out a couple while there to convince myself that my brain was OK.
Terrie Hodges Marie Myers it sounds like you are doing well quickly👍..did you have mini sternotomy? Do you have ... Read more
Terrie Hodges Marie Myers it sounds like you are doing well quickly👍..did you have mini sternotomy? Do you have AFib? What meds are you on?
Rita Savelis Recovery time varies so it is hard to say. You may feel very tired after surgery for awhile, and your ... Read more
Rita Savelis Recovery time varies so it is hard to say. You may feel very tired after surgery for awhile, and your body needs time to recover. 2 weeks may be a bit early, although everyone here seems to be back on their computers and smart phones hours after surgery! I needed to rest for a good month, and didn't go back to work for 3 months. Patients react to anasthesia in different ways as to the heart lung machine. I wish I could be more helpful and give you exact information but it does not work that way. Every patient is singular and your recovery will be yours. You may have to be patient and let your body recover in the time it needs from OHS.
Take care.
I'm self employed and had to go back to work part time four days after getting home from surgery doin ... Read more
I'm self employed and had to go back to work part time four days after getting home from surgery doing office work (architectural contract documents)and did not have any problems. A week later I decided to measure a three story house for a up coming renovation project. This was a big mistake, I made it about three hours before I was ready to collapse, I went back two weeks later and finished. I stopped taking pain med's when I got home from the hospital and did not have any memory problems that I remember.
Malihe ghadimi Thanks so much all, I think I got the idea that 2 weeks may be early to start the work :D. I will tr ... Read more
Malihe ghadimi Thanks so much all, I think I got the idea that 2 weeks may be early to start the work :D. I will try my best after the surgery first for my recovery and then for my work :)
Continue from my journal, actually, Dr. Kasirajan is the doctor for the second opinion. I first met Dr. Baker. I got third opinion last week from a cardiac ...Read more
Continue from my journal, actually, Dr. Kasirajan is the doctor for the second opinion. I first met Dr. Baker. I got third opinion last week from a cardiac doctor. He did not give me new information except that I thought the tissue valve has 5 to 10 years life but now form him and also your comments that it is not true and the life is 10 to 15 years. He answered all my question except the whether or not the pregnancy affects on the life of tissue valve and decrease it. It seems, there is not certain answer for this question!
Civita Fahey no one really knows the life span of a tissue valve., the average is 10-15 years, some can be more s ... Read more
Civita Fahey no one really knows the life span of a tissue valve., the average is 10-15 years, some can be more some can be less. So we are given an average.. its up to the patient whether they want to take the chance on how long it may last.
Hi, my name is Maliheh. I am recently turned to 35 years old. I have a 5 years old daughter and currently is living in Virginia. I noticed my heart problem ...Read more
Hi, my name is Maliheh. I am recently turned to 35 years old. I have a 5 years old daughter and currently is living in Virginia. I noticed my heart problem when I was pregnant with my daughter. I am diagnosed with severe aortic valve, now. My surgeon is Dr. Vigneshwar Kasirajan from VCU, Richmond, VA. My surgeon suggest me to have mechanical valve and no pregnancy. But, my husband and I like to have another child. He told us if I want another baby, I need to go with tissue valve but in 5 to 10 years, I need to do another surgery again to replace the valve which I don't like. I'd like to have mechanical valve and another child. My surgeon told me, I don't recommend another pregnancy but if you would like to have another pregnancy, it should be planned with mechanical valve. Then I met an OB doctor and said it is possible and you need to planned blood thinner medicine. We were so happy that it is possible to have mechanical valve and pregnancy. The ob doctor refer me to a maternal doctor. I met her yesterday, 03/20/17, totally destroyed my dreams about having another baby with metallic valve. My question is that anyone have done metallic valve and having pregnancy after that or know someone? Even more, I really scared of metallic valve because of blood thinner since even a small cut in finger and bleeding can be harsh. I am scheduled for open heart surgery on April 14 th 2017 for metallic valve but now after meeting with maternal doctor I totally hesitate about kind of valve :(
Steve Farthing If you are undecided on the type of valve to have, maybe you should delay your surgery temporarily un ... Read more
Steve Farthing If you are undecided on the type of valve to have, maybe you should delay your surgery temporarily until that decision is clear in your mind. Or maybe you can find a surgeon who is able to repair your aortic valve which is sometimes possible with the right surgeon?
Valerie Archual Malihe- look at Melissa's post to the right (under recent posts today it's actually under your post t ... Read more
Valerie Archual Malihe- look at Melissa's post to the right (under recent posts today it's actually under your post today) she is talking about having a mechanical valve replaced on April 11 and was talking about pregnancy and having more kids etc- message her!!!!!
Arif Butt If you want a tissue valve, find a doctor who will use a tissue valve. I had a Redo procedure , far m ... Read more
Arif Butt If you want a tissue valve, find a doctor who will use a tissue valve. I had a Redo procedure , far more compkex, my doctor wakked Mr though the various options, the it was explained to me, the life expectancy between a machinical valve and tissue , was small, the mechanical valve lasted 15-17 years, a tissue vakvecwssccoise to 12-13 years. Upside no blood thinners when on tissue valve , my first tissue valve lasted 26 years. Research this talk to other doctors and getv2nd & 3rd opinion. Every patient is different. I certainly don't want to give you wrong information, this is my story from my surgery. I did not want a mechanical valve .
If I were you, get a 2nd opinion. I have really bad experiences with some doctors. That is why I went to to one of the most reputable hospitals traveling 3 hours one way everytime I have a scheduled appointment. My local doctors did not do anything with my problems, so my problems got worse, affecting most of my internal organs, and I had to pay for it. Just a suggestion
Patricia Garcia Hi, I had a repair then had two children. Repair failed in 5 years then had a replacement with porci ... Read more
Patricia Garcia Hi, I had a repair then had two children. Repair failed in 5 years then had a replacement with porcine valve. After 5 years I had a surprise pregnancy and scared the doctors. Had a ruff pregnancy, developed afib and my son was delivered early via c-section. Two years later my porcine valve failed and I had my 3rd valve surgery in 2015 with a mechanical mitral valve. Pregnancy with a mechanical valve is possible, but you will have to give yourself Lovenox shots in your belly throughout the pregnancy. Coumadin crosses the placenta and is not an option. It comes with risks, but I heard of it happening before. I wanted children also. I had my daughter when I was 18 and had problems with delivery with my heart. When they decided to repair my valve I received the repair because I wanted kids, regardless of needing another surgery. My last pregnancy I had to deliver at a high risk hospital with a high risk maternity doctor and my cardiologist. My valve was predicted to last 16 years, but failed 2 years after my son was born. Not sure if my pregnancy impacted it or not, but it was worth it. My children give me my fight to live and I couldn't imagine life without them.
Jan Persico I would consider a second opinion from a cardio-thoracic surgeon. Good Luck. Stay Strong!
Jane Welp I understand about opinions. I met & interviewed 3 before I ready to accept their recommendations. I ... Read more
Jane Welp I understand about opinions. I met & interviewed 3 before I ready to accept their recommendations. I didn't believe anything. Now I do & after many questions, I was ready to schedule my surgery.
Melissa Alfred Hi there! As Valerie said above, I went through this same tearful struggle of trying to figure out w ... Read more
Melissa Alfred Hi there! As Valerie said above, I went through this same tearful struggle of trying to figure out what to do. I'm 37, but we do not have children yet but want children. Let me tell you, a cardiac surgeon's opinions about the type of valve for you may not be what you want - and IT'S YOUR CHOICE, not theirs. No matter what anyone says, having a mechanical valve & having a pregnancy do not mix. I have met maybe 2 ladies who have done this, yes it is possible but there's too many IF's and Maybe's and Who know's with this mechanical valve decision and pregnancy. I finally found the right surgeon for me, from an angel on this website who reached out. And i'm getting another tissue valve so that I can become a mom, and live my life as I have the past 10 years on just a baby aspirin daily, ad no worries of cutting myself. I anticipate the new valve to last at least another 10-15 years. Yes, i'd require another surgery or in another decade TAVR will be the norm, but that is worth it in my mind if I am looking into the eyes of my child in 15 years from now. If you have any questions or are needing to vent, don't hesitate to contact me! xo
Malihe ghadimi Thanks all for you comments, suggestions and praying! <3 :*
Malihe ghadimi Especial thanks for Patricia and Melissa, your comments are very useful for me <3 :*
Patricia Garcia Your very welcome Malihe. I understand I have been in that position. I am a mom of 4 children and o ... Read more
Patricia Garcia Your very welcome Malihe. I understand I have been in that position. I am a mom of 4 children and only one was was born before my heart surgeries.
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Kelly Whalen
Mitral Regurgitation
February 26, 2025
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Wishing you an easy recovery.