Good luck. I hope they can do this through the groin or via the side of the chest without a major incision. My father had his aortic value replaced about 30 years ago. I sure the technology has moved along a lot since then. Years ago it was either a pig value or a metal one as a replacement. Are there other options now? Can they repair the existing valve without replacing it?

Unfortunately, it is open heart. The though the groin is on,y done on patients who cannot tolerate open heart. There is a study now for "younger" patients in the US, but you have to be 65 (not there yet.). Plus, surgeon feels that if anything else needs doing, he must be able to see what's happening. The heart muscle is a bit enlarged and they may need to do some work there. Mine will be a biological valve, mechanical requires Coumadin. With the stenosis, evidently it can't be repaired as it is calcified.

May your Spirits be Full of God's Fabulous Peace, Faith and Healing. We know that All things are possible for those that Believe. I Believe with you that this Surgery will be Successful.

I wish you the best of luck, particularly since it's open heart surgery. Like Paul, I would have hoped for either a groin or port surgery. I will hope for the best.

Thanks For the kind words. We are trying to remain positive and appreciate the support.

I wish Rick lots of luck. I hope everything goes well for him and the operation is a successful one. Please keep us posted.

Wish you the best,
Scott

You're in all our thoughts and prayers. Hang in there and remember that this will be in the rear view mirror soon enough.

--jeff

Prayers tor successful surgery and recovery. Hope everything goes smoothly. Will be thinking of you tomorrow. Please keep us updated!
Hugs.
Christine

Hello,
We made it through the surgery successfully. The surgeon showed me a picture of the calcified valve and the portion of muscle they took off. They were able to extubate him pretty quickly, and he was resting comfortably with the pain managed this evening. It will take a couple of days to see how his "pacing" goes, but for now things are stable and good. He even cracked a few jokes between sleeping. We know we have a long road ahead, but we are so happy that day one is over. Thank you for your support. I will keep you updated. Praying, too, that the AFIB stays away...

Great news!
Hope everything continues to go smoothly:) Prayers confined and NO AFIB. Hope you both get some well needed rest.
Hugs;
Christine

Sorry: Should say - Continued Prayers!

Yay! rots o' ruck, Rick!

Very good to hear things went well. Lots of hope that he makes a full recovery.

Hi all, after two very good days, AFIB has reared its ugly head. After a walk, his heart rate spiked and he's been in AFIB since then. Evidently it's a common occurrence after open heart surgery, typically a couple days out, but it's still such a difficult thing to handle. Rick feels terrible and discouraged. He's being treated with meds and they are hopeful he will convert soon. We fought this battle before; so it's hard to swallow. You certainly know how he feels. Hoping my next post is back to positive.
Tami

I really think doctors should be up front about what to expect. Your husband's experience is very common. He is on track for a successful operation. Note that after 30 days, very few are in afib.

Here is a quote:

"Atrial fibrillation (A-fib) is a relatively common complication of both surgical (SAVR) and transcatheter-based (TAVR) aortic valve replacement (AVR), according to a single-center, retrospective cohort study appearing online January 29, 2014, ahead of print in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology."

There were 123 patients in the study.

" Single-center study: New-onset A-fib occurred in 42.3% of AVR patients
A-fib occurred almost twice as often with SAVR (60%) as with TAVR (35%)

New-onset A-fib occurred at a median time of 53 hours56 hours in the SAVR group and 52 hours in the TAVR group. More than half of A-fib episodes lasted less than 24 hours and spontaneously resolved. Twenty-five patients received amiodarone, including 2 patients who eventually underwent successful electrical cardioversion. Conversion after administration of amiodarone occurred in the majority of patients who received the drug, but 11 patients remained in A-fib at the time of discharge and 7 remained in A-fib at 30-day follow-up."