The surgeon explained that the echo cardiogram resulted James aortic root valve was only functioning at 60%. This creates an added intervention of repair or replacement of the valve during the aortic aneurysm repair surgery. Aortic insufficiency is a heart valve disease in which the aortic valve does not close tightly. This leads to the backward flow of blood from the aorta (the largest blood vessel) into the left ventricle (a chamber of the heart).
Options- #1 repair if possible. Yes! Should repair of his existing valve appears not possible, we then need to decide what to replace his valve with, biological or mechanical. Major differences for both. If we opt for the biological the lifespan of the valve is around 10 years, then a re operation and replacement would be necessary (with the possibility of a less invasive procedure). With the option to go with a mechanical valve, the lifespan on those are 200 years given no scar tissue builds up and obstructs the valve. The only problem with the mechanical valve is that James would have to be on blood thinners for the rest of his life. This would also hold the added need of regular blood draws to check his levels. Blood thinners hold the risk of bleeding easily which means he would likely never ride his horses again, no more motorcycle or any other semi-risky activities anymore.
Given that James is only 52 years old this seemed to be a relatively easy choice for us. We decided to go biological if a replacement was needed. If James could go back to even 80% of his normal life for 10 more years then we could opt to go mechanical at that point or see how it goes with another biological valve and buy him another 10 years with no real hard lifestyle changes. James is a healthy man. He doesn’t smoke, he doesn’t have high blood pressure, he isn’t obese. We eat healthy and live an active lifestyle. Just before James was diagnosed in May, he was in better shape than he had been in prob 10 years! The surgeon tells James he is a great candidate for this surgery given his overall health and has great confidence James will come through this surgery and recovery just fine. With the surgery consultation complete, we leave the office with more optimism than we showed up with. Time to figure out how to spend the next 30 days leading up to the big day! I think many spoils and lots of love is on the menu for this wonderful man.
Holding His Hand- Life After Aortic Aneurysm Diagnosis 