Wish me luck!

[Liam]

I have been waiting all summer for a surgery date to have my stenosed bicuspid aortic valve replaced. The call came this morning, for surgery on Sept. 4th. I've known this was coming for 14 years when my congenital bicuspid valve was first found during my annual physical. It has gradually got worse and is now at the point where I get out of breath climbing a flight of stairs or walking even a short distance. While surgery and the recovery from it will not be fun, I'm looking forward to getting my life back.
Cheers to all!

[plaid preacher]

I have been waiting all summer for a surgery date to have my stenosed bicuspid aortic valve replaced. The call came this morning, for surgery on Sept. 4th. I've known this was coming for 14 years when my congenital bicuspid valve was first found during my annual physical. It has gradually got worse and is now at the point where I get out of breath climbing a flight of stairs or walking even a short distance. While surgery and the recovery from it will not be fun, I'm looking forward to getting my life back.
Cheers to all!

Good news that you have a date, and can soon start looking forward to a renewed life. In the short term, God's blessings.

[Todd Bradshaw]

Good luck Liam. I think you'll find that though it's certainly no picnic, it's not as bad as the anticipation. I had a valve replaced a couple days before Christmas, along with about 4" of my aorta that they replaced with a hunk of Dacron tubing, all to fix an upper aortic aneurism before it could blow out and kill me. All in all, I've actually had toothaches that caused me more discomfort than the whole process did.

Basically, you just go in and do what they tell you to do. Be prepared for them to constantly be interrupting you as you try to rest (which gets annoying) and don't be surprised if almost all food tastes really bad for a while. It took a couple months before my favorite foods finally started to taste "normal" again. They'll probably send you to cardiac rehab after a few weeks and the folks there will get you moving again and on the way back to normal. It's worth doing, especially considering the alternative. My main regret was that I wanted my wife to make me a flannel robe that was black up top with a tartan pleated lower section, for roaming the halls of the cardiac ward, but we never got around to making it.

[Father Bill]

Liam - prayers & cares for you, and yes, you asked for luck, so lots of that as well!

Bill+

[Dughlas mor]

My prayers and best wishes go out to you, Liam. I have no doubt that everything will work out well.

[Thekiltedmohawk]

I hope nothing but the best for you! Good luck.

[JohntheBiker]

Liam, here's wishing you the best of luck for a successful surgery and a speedy recovery.

[GMan]

Blessings. You will do well.

[Pollok]

Liam,

I'm a Physician Assistant that works in Cardiac Surgery. This is absolutely my favorite surgery that we perform!

I'm sure you've heard this already but, in the right hands an AVR is a beautifully elegant and relatively easy operation. It's very common for folks to notice an improvement in their breathing within the first couple of days post-op!

The recovery is often times straight forward, but can take up to a month before you are feeling back to yourself, and up to 3 months before you hit 100%. Remember, IF the going gets tough the objective is for you to feel better in the long run. It's a short term investment for a long term gain.

Congratulations on getting your surgery date!

Happy, safe, and speedy recovery,

Spencer

[MNlad]

Good luck, indeed. Having gone through double bypass, I agree that everything will taste like cardboard, or worse, for a few weeks, but it is a small price to pay for the long-term benefits of the surgery. As a bonus, you will meet many wonderful people along the road to recovery. My prayers are with you.