Michelle's Posts

Hi Michelle, Great question. Fyi, I had aortic valve surgery. But, I have spoke with many mitral valve patient success stories over the years. In fact, I have filmed several videos with your surgeon, Dr. Marc Gerdisch, and his patients. I will post them below. I hope that helps your anxiety. My thoughts and prayers are with you!

Probably one of the valves that has the greatest success stories. I think it is the most common of the valve procedures. In my case i had non robotic minimally invasive mitral valve repair and maze procedure in january. By all indications, follow up echos, i am doing great. I feel terrific and just this week i am be fitted for a 2 week monitor to see if the maze procedure successfully ended my a fib incidents which are common with mitral valve Issues. Repair is always preferred over replace if possible and access to your heart can be accomplished in a few different ways. Robotic probably has the fastest recovery time due to smaller incisions. Splitting the sternum The longest. I am also 79 years old and was very active and remain so. I’m sure you will get other responses with different opinions. I can only speak for myself.

You have an awesome surgeon, Michelle. Super important. I had my mitral valve repaired six months ago. My surgeon had to cut through the sternum, because of my severe calcification. What you should know is that it was not that painful. I know, hard to believe! But I was incredibly exhausted for a host of reasons. Just know that you will need a lot of sleep and will feel very weak. You will rapidly gain strength so that when you are discharged you can walk around your hospital floor fairly well. You also will end up lying on your back for a couple of months when you sleep and it will get annoying, - it’s uncomfortable. My recovery thus far has been a great success and so pleased (happy!) that I did it. You will feel the same way and let out a long exhale!!

I had an open heart mitral valve repair with a full sternotomy 3 years ago. My surgeon preferred the full open procedure for my repair. Beforehand, my surgeon estimated a 98% chance he could repair, not replace, my valve; and he did a 100% successful repair. I went in on a Tuesday morning and was home for dinner Friday. My mitral valve was still not leaking at all as of my 2 year ultrasound checkup, so that's great. You will be weak for several weeks after the surgery, as there will be blood loss and they prefer to avoid transfusing. But you will be amazed at how quickly you recover after the surgery, as you will feel stronger every day.

Michelle - Waiting is the worst part of the process! I had minimally-invasive mitral valve surgery on a Friday morning and was released from the hospital by mid-day on Monday. I was able to walk the halls, unassisted, from the second day and felt 95% recovered in two weeks. The fatigue lingers for awhile, so afternoon power naps were helpful. You're going to be just fine!! You can do it!

I second Cora's message. I had my mitral valve replaced along with my aortic valve at age 53 (6 years ago), and my tricuspid valve repaired. Recovery can take time. Every patient is different. I remember being exhausted and in discomfort (not pain) for months. Many patients get repairs (like you). I couldn't be repaired because I had too much fibrosis/scarring from previous radiation cancer treament. WIshing you the best, although I'm sorry that you have to go through this....