5 days following valve replacement

[Alessa_]

Have followed a number of posts here prior to my op. Now day 5 post op after a successful Tricuspid replacement (repairs were sadly not going to hold) still in hospital but hoping to be home in couple of days, there were some minor delays due to sickness and pacing box. Wishing everyone well who is waiting or recently undergone, will be happy to answer questions based on personal experience once I have more energy

[10gingercats]

I have a very leaky tricuspid valve.I am in my 80's so I have been told there is quite a risk to this op. even with keyhole. I would be glad to hear of a) your age, b) who did your op and where etc. Thank you.

[Alessa_ in reply to 10gingercats]

Hello ginger cats, I was recommended for open heart over minimally invasive. I'm 30 years old and my surgeon is Victor Zlocha based at the Glenfield HospitalThere are risks as you will know, thankfully this has been largely successful. We are just waiting on some pacing issues to hopefully self terminate

Very best wishes

[10gingercats in reply to Alessa_]

Thanks for replying.Well, you are a youngster.They do preferopen heart surgery with this op. so that if anything goes wrong they do not have to open you up as a last min. option. It has been vaguely suggested for me at The John Radcliffe hospital Oxford but their experience in doing it on oldies is very limited and i am not keen on being the experimental rabbit!

[Alessa_ in reply to 10gingercats]

Am I right in thinking then that you're looking for another hospital to treat you? I can appreciate your feelings around this

[10gingercats in reply to Alessa_]

I am very vaguely thinking of Harefields but do not have a name for a copetent and experienced surgeon in this field who have operated on 'oldies' for tricuspid replace or clips.Very few tri. surgeries are done on their own and mostly open heart while some other heart procedure is being done. Not for me at 83. I have been advised against it re. open heart. So it would be an experience surgeon who does minimalist/keyhole work and even that carries quite a lot of risk.!0% change of death during surgery or just after!

[Jocastina in reply to 10gingercats]

Hello, I don’t know anything about tricuspid surgery but I have just looked up my surgeon who did my mitral valve replacement via minimal access and it says on the Imperial College website that he does tricuspid as well as mitral and aortic. He’s called Roberto Casula, based at Hammersmith Hospital. However I must say that there seem to be different levels of minimal access - mine was via right anterior thoracotomy, through the right ribs, and it’s still open heart surgery, just not with an opened sternum, and it was pretty painful. There are also transcatheter operations which might be what you’d prefer and while I know aortic valves can be done that way, I really don’t know about tricuspid. But maybe it’s worth asking the question and finding out what these different people can do?

[mariah222 in reply to 10gingercats]

Hello 10gingercats,I've just seen the cardiac surgeon at Liverpool Heart and Chest Hospital.

Very helpful, patient and answering my many questions re surgery. Everyone there is lovely.

He does the open heart surgery but spoke of his colleague there Dr Paul Modi who works with the less invasive heart proceedures and has been on TV in the past talking about his work in this way.

If you go to lhch.nhs.uk you will get the hospital website and his name will come up under heart surgeons.

Good luck!

Mariah

[10gingercats in reply to mariah222]

thank you

[mariah222 in reply to Alessa_]

Hello Alessa,I hope you are continuing to feel better now that your op is done, and that your recovery goes well.

I'm interested in your post and in particular why you were recommended for open heart surgery rather than minimally invasive.

I have just seen the surgeon at Liverpool Heart Hospital and am needing tricuspid and mitral valves replacing, but the choice of miminally invasive, ie through the groin and right side of upper body as opposed to the bigger op, opening the chest has been left to me, though I await a scan to see if the minimal one is possible for me.

If not then thats decision made!

Im 71 and in reasonable health except for heart probs.

Many thanks for any insights you can give me.

Very best wishes

Mariah

[Alessa_ in reply to mariah222]

Hi Mariah, nice to hear from you. I asked about minimally invasive when I saw my surgeon, he explained that currently (back in October 2020) no one was performing minimally invasive locally and my closest centre would be London. During that time, many of the minimally invasives were being scaled back due to COVID (I think they take longer to complete). This would have caused further delay and potentially deterioration. As it was, I waited 8 months instead of 6 weeks. The surgeon also recommended the open procedure as it provides them with a clearer view to begin with, in some cases minimally invasives require full sternotomy anyway.

I think too, given those things and my young age, it made more sense to go open heart. For me, the minimally invasive was more about reducing infection risk as I'm asplenic but the risk was unlikely to be very different as precautions are taken.

I don't know if this helps, I certainly hope it does! It might be worth exploring the recovery times for each as I don't recall if we covered that

Best wishes 😊

[mariah222 in reply to Alessa_]

Hello Alessa,Thank you for your full reply. In particular the possibility of going for the minimal proceedure only to find that in the end the full on sternactomy is needed.

Hadn't thought of that!

I realise I'm lucky to be given a choice too. The bigger op takes 8-10 weeks for recovery, whilst the less invasive is around 4 weeks.

So its really the big scar I'd rather avoid, but then it's not the end of the world, especially at my grand old age 😊.

I'll come to a decision soon.

I hope your recovery is continuing to go well.

Very best wishes,

Mariah x

[Alessa_ in reply to mariah222]

Hi Mariah, I can see why the shorter recovery would be tempting, it's rather significant. What I'm finding is that I am perhaps capable of some things but I must be mindful that I shouldn't...be reaching for that item or lifting that bag and so on.

As for the scar, I've seen some 12 months on on a social media group and they are incredibly hard to notice. Actually, I was in disbelief when I saw how thin the mark is after the dressing was removed. I also have a scar from the bottom of my breastbone to just under the navel from my splenectomy so aside from a few millimetres in between, my whole torso bears one straight scar. The splenectomy scar is also very tidy though so I hope that sets your mind at ease a little.

I'm doing okay thank you

Best wishes

[mariah222 in reply to Alessa_]

Thanks Alessa, your reply made me smile as I have a scar from my naval to the pubic bone after a hysterectomy....... between us we would make one long line all the way down! I'm moving more to going for the big cut. Thanks for your input in this decision, and again very best wishes for your recovery.

Look after yourself,

Mariah x

[Alessa_ in reply to mariah222]

Oh Mariah, what a pair we are! Well I'm glad I've made you smile, and the thought of the scar isn't so troublesome. It may be still worth the minimally invasive for the shorter recovery and so on but your surgeon will be best placed for that discussionI will and thank you kindly, I'm sure you'll find what's right for you

All the best

[Alisbabas]

Hi Alessa,

I wish you a speedy recovery

Ali

[Alessa_ in reply to Alisbabas]

Thank you 😊

[CLWoot]

Hi

Thanks for sharing, I’m waiting to find out about my tricuspid regurgitation ... whether I need an op just yet or not, can you share a bit about how you ended up needing the op? Like we’re you diagnosed with severe tricuspid or was it mild and then progressed. Also what’s your prognosis post op? I’ve read some pretty scary things about the op only lasting 5-10 years. Also your age if you don’t mind😬. I’m 44 but sudden fatal heart attacks have taken a lot of my family including my dad at a young age. So I’m very concerned. Thanks so much x

[Alessa_ in reply to CLWoot]

Hi CL,Thanks for your message, I am sorry to hear about your worries and loss of your dad. I too lost my dad just last year from IHD. It's a bit of an unusual account but a few years ago, I suffered some complications during an ablation. A catheter became entangled in the tricuspid valve and was removed in theatre. During the removal, the septal leaflet was torn and I was diagnosed with 'moderate-severe' regurgitation. So we knew because we knew although there were no symptoms.

Over time the heart has become enlarged and repair/replacement was suggested last year. The repairs were tried in theatre but were not looking good so a bio valve was used. It's probably going to give me the best quality of life at 30 and I hope it will last me a good 10-15 years but as you know, it's hard to predict these things.

I hope that helps a little

[CLWoot in reply to Alessa_]

Thanks for replying and sharing your story. So in 10-15 years you will need another operation? And I guess by then we hope technology has improved and the next one will be permanent. Take care and I hope you have a speedy recovery x

[Alessa_ in reply to CLWoot]

Yes that's correct and exactly, hoping the edwards resilia valve technology can then be applied to Tricuspids so we have the benefits of a bio valve that lasts much longer. Thank you kindly, do feel free to PM or comment with other questions and I'll do my best to help 😊

[Jocastina]

Hi Alessa, that’s great news that it’s done and was successful and you’re on the road to recovery!

[Alessa_ in reply to Jocastina]

Hi Again and thank you, are you still next week? My thoughts are with you

[Jocastina]

Thank you! Currently booked in for this Thursday, 10th June. Hope it actually happens! It's funny, cancellation has made me more nervous about being cancelled again than about having the operation! I might feel differently on Wednesday night...

[Alessa_ in reply to Jocastina]

I've just realised that's today! Wishing you the absolute best today and that everything goes according to plan. I completely understand your feelings around the cancellation, I found myself feeling the same way. If you're offered lactulose for your bowels, take this at the earliest opportunity. I know that sounds random but it's useful I promise.