Virginia (Ginger)'s Profile

I am a 61 year old female who was born with a bicuspid aortic valve, so I have always had a murmur. I am asymptomatic, but my yearly echocardiogram results imply that I will need valve surgery within the next few years. At the age of 35 I had a traumatic brain injury (TBI). As a result of this, my physicians recommend that I avoid long term anti-coagulation therapy. As I would like to avoid the need for a second surgery years after the first, I am interested in finding an experienced surgeon who has an interest in replacing my aortic valve and has done a fair number of these successfully. I live in the center of the US, so expect to need to travel. I am now looking into the Minimally Invasive approach, since so far my echocardiogram does not suggest that additional procedures besides the replacement of the aortic valve is going to be needed. My husband and I plan to travel this summer to get a consultation with an experienced valve surgeon, and learn more about my particular situation.