Member Profiles
PAUL
Hi- I had my mitral valve replaced with a Carbomedics mechanical valve in October, 1998. The surgery was done at the Washington Hospital Center in Washington, D.C. My surgeon, Louis Kanda is reputed to be one of the finest valve surgeons on the east coast. When I have my yearly echocardiogram, the technician usually comments on what a great job the surgeon did. I have had no problems at all and can do anything I want with no restrictions. I am on coumadin for the rest of my life, but it has been regulated well for the past two years so popping a pill every day is no big deal. It also helps that I have a machine made by Roche diagnostics that allows me to check my INR at home. Unfortunately, the insurance that I have would not pay for the machine, so I had to cough up $1300 of my own. It definitely is worth it though, since I don't have to disrupt my schedule and have blood drawn periodically. I check my blood with a simple prick of the finger once a month.
My symptoms prior to surgery were shortness of breath, that was diagnosed as asthma, and occasional dizziness. My surgeon told me that the asthma symptoms were due to blood backing up into my lungs due to mitral regurgitation since the valve was not closing properly and allowed backflow. The left side of my heart was enlarged froms years of being overworked and the surgery was necessary to prevent the heart from stretching to the point of no more elasticity and thus poor pumping ability.
I am currently 53 years old and had the surgery 2 weeks prior to my 50th birthday. I can't hear the artificial valve ticking due to a certain amount of hearing loss. My wife can hear it across the room but she has grown used to it.
I am looking forward to many more years of productive life! Open heart surgery is not that bad, but I would like to avoid going through it again. If you have any kind of heart problems or suspect that you do, try to find a reputable cardiologist who will refer you to reputable surgeon with a good track record. Good Luck!
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