Scott Courson - Heart Valve Journal

My Journal

Scott Coursonposted an update

460 days ago

Jeff Williams, Kimberly Eisenhut, Cathleen Weed and 2 others reacted to this

Aortic Valve replacement and aortic root repair tomorrow Friday August 18 at 5am at University of Miami Hospital 😁❤️

Jeff Williams You'll do great. I had mine done July 14.

Marie Myers Scott- wishing you a smooth journey through surgery and recovery! I am 6 years post AVR, aortic root ... Read more

Marie Myers Scott- wishing you a smooth journey through surgery and recovery! I am 6 years post AVR, aortic root and ascending aneurysm resection. The first week is tough, but you will get through it all.

Grace Mason

Sending best wishes and prayers, Scott

Michael Solis Aortic valve + double bypass on 5 15 23. Doing great and you will be headed to a full recovery soon. ... Read more

Michael Solis Aortic valve + double bypass on 5 15 23. Doing great and you will be headed to a full recovery soon. Take care

Rose Madura Scott, best wishes for a successful surgery and an uneventful recovery! Let us know how it goes onc... Read more

Rose Madura Scott, best wishes for a successful surgery and an uneventful recovery! Let us know how it goes once you are able.

Andrew Dial U will do amazing !

Susan Jones Thinking of you. Here's to the best in recovery

Cathleen Weed

Scott Coursonposted an update

542 days ago

Would like to hear from some folks regarding trying to decide between bio valve and mechanical. My cardiologist wants mechanical. I am 49 and active and am ...Read more

Would like to hear from some folks regarding trying to decide between bio valve and mechanical. My cardiologist wants mechanical. I am 49 and active and am very worried about long term blood thinner complications.

Brady Busch Hi Scott,
There are a number of people who chose the Ross procedure.Has that been looked into or i ... Read more

Brady Busch Hi Scott,
There are a number of people who chose the Ross procedure.Has that been looked into or isn't available?
My decision was easier at 66,to get a tissue valve.I'm still on a blood thinner,Eliquis and not sure if it's okay to take with a mechanical valve right now,maybe Warfarin only.To me, it's just another pill.I've minorly cut myself and didn't bleed,like what was imagined.Wounds tend to take longer to heal,though.

Rose Madura Scott, I was thinking the same thing that Brady brought up, the Ross Procedure. You may want to look... Read more

Rose Madura Scott, I was thinking the same thing that Brady brought up, the Ross Procedure. You may want to look into it. Everyone is different and several people on the site have had it including our founder Adam Pick. That being said, to give you some perspective, I was 59 and on the edge as far as mechanical or tissue. I ended up with getting a tissue valve mainly due to not wanting to take Warfarin. My advice is always the same...do your research, make a decision and the go with it and don't second guess yourself. It will be the right decision for you. God bless you on your heart valve journey. Please keep us updated. You've come to the right place for support.

Andrew Dial Im 34 and had the Ross last year. No blood thinners for me. Maybe worth looking into?

Rajan Parrikar As you know by now, both come with their pros and cons. However, there have been significant advances ... Read more

Rajan Parrikar As you know by now, both come with their pros and cons. However, there have been significant advances in bio valves. The Edwards Inspiris valve is now highly regarded and is said to have a much longer life span. It is the one I got 3 months ago (I'm 59). As with everything in life, there are no guarantees, of course. But you should discuss this with your medical team. If it lasts 15-20 years and can be later replaced via a TAVR procedure, that's something to think about.

STEPHEN MORRIS I had the same recommendation. Turns out the surgeon who recommended mechanical was only able (certi ... Read more

STEPHEN MORRIS I had the same recommendation. Turns out the surgeon who recommended mechanical was only able (certified) to do mechanical. Because my case became more complex...another surgeon was assigned and I had a bio valve

Allen Carkner I've been doing pretty well after Ross procedure 11 weeks ago. I'll be 25 next week. I would recommen ... Read more

Allen Carkner I've been doing pretty well after Ross procedure 11 weeks ago. I'll be 25 next week. I would recommend finding surgeons that do a large volume of Ross procedures/ avr's in general if you'd like to explore that option. My Surgeon's assistant says generally 50 years old is the cut off for Ross procedures but it all depends on your health and anatomy. My cardiologist didn't even bring up Ross procedure and generally he said they recommend mechanical for younger adults. I kind of had to seek it out myself after reading many peer reviewed journal articles and deciding it was the right option for me. Good luck!

Scott Courson My cardiologist has never mentioned the Ross procedure. I appreciate all the support and information ... Read more

Scott Courson My cardiologist has never mentioned the Ross procedure. I appreciate all the support and information. My gut says I want to do bio valve and take the risk of another reoperation in the future. I have not talked with surgeon yet that my cardiologist is referring me to.

Scott Courson How long from referral does it usually take for surgery to take place? Am I looking at months from no ... Read more

Scott Courson How long from referral does it usually take for surgery to take place? Am I looking at months from now for actual surgery?

Brady Busch A lot of the when,depends on what the tests reveal and probably a little,concerning the hospital's an ... Read more

Brady Busch A lot of the when,depends on what the tests reveal and probably a little,concerning the hospital's and surgeon's schedule.

Scott Courson I met with Cardiologist yesterday. Heart Cath and CT of heart show everything is good for valve repla ... Read more

Scott Courson I met with Cardiologist yesterday. Heart Cath and CT of heart show everything is good for valve replacement...referred me to Univ. of Miami for minimally invasive surgery...waiting to hear from them. He still is adamant about getting a mechanical valve. I am terrified of the clicking noise, blood thinner, dietary restrictions, and activity restrictions. UGH. Maybe I will be able to ask the surgeon. I've done a lot of reading and am frustrated because it seems many studies on the bio valve life are older studies.

Marie Myers Scott, has anyone discussed valve repair? It is often a great choice for regurgitant valves. Only pro ... Read more

Marie Myers Scott, has anyone discussed valve repair? It is often a great choice for regurgitant valves. Only problem is, not every surgeon does them. You may have to travel to a center that does aortic valve repairs.