Christopher's Profile

Update - Well, after postponing a mechanical valve replacement surgery scheduled for April 21, and meeting with other surgeons for second opinions, I decided to go with Dr. Stelzer at Mount Sinai. He felt there was a 50/50 chance of repair and if a repair could not be done he felt I would be a good candidate for the Ross procedure. I'm 46 years old, journey began with a routine physical, never had been told I had a murmur before but tests showed I had a bicuspid valve that is failing leading to mild to moderate left ventricle dilation. Due to my age and lower risk, I was first recommended full open heart surgery with mechanical valve replacement. It was lot to absorb from feeling fine to being told I'm heading for open heart surgery, but tried to look at the positives; caught it early, fixing things for the long term and no other issues to fix during the surgery. I was a little nervous about being in blood thinners for life, so I decided to continue researching alternatives.