Doris Said:

Is Pleurisy somewhat normal after mitral valve repair? If yes, then can it heal by itself?

We Answered:

contact your cardiologist -not Yahoo!

Dawn Said:

which hospitals in tn, mo or ar performs mitral valve repair surgery?

We Answered:

I know for sure that Jackson-Madison County General Hospital in Jackson, TN does valve replacements and has an almost perfect success rate with open heart and by-pass surgeries. I'm not real sure where the other response got his information about the hospital in St. Louis being in the top 10 in the country. Most polling agencies do not rate hospitals like that, the top hospitals are ranked in a broader range like 100 or 500 with no placement on exact rank given. Anyways, not the point. Go to Jackson, Memphis, or Vanderbilt in Nashville...they are all good sources for heart surgeries.

Rita Said:

how long does it take to recover after Mitral Valve repair open heart surgery, & do my own works without help?

We Answered:

Its takes a while to be yourself again. Some people are doing great within weeks while others take months. A lot depends on pain tolerance and willingness to do rehab and exercises as ordered. If you do not do your rehab it will take much longer and your are much more likely to develop complications such as pneumonia. It would be very helpful to have someone around for a few weeks to assist you.

Cynthia Said:

High blood pressure after mitral valve repair?

We Answered:

There is no definite link between mitral valve repair and high blood pressure other than the stress related to the surgical procedure and follow up.

Allison Said:

Have you had mitral valve repair?If,yes,where and how did it go? I am 83 and in good health...work every day a

We Answered:

The question on whether you need to have mitral valve surgery depends on how bad the leak is and is the heart under any strain from it. With a mitral valve that leaks significantly, the main warning signs of significant strain is that the main pumping chamber of the heart begins to stretch up and the heart begins to dilate. If the valve is replaced or repaired at this stage, damage to the heart can be limited however if you wait until the heart's pumping function starts to deteriorate, fixing it will not bring the function back to normal and if the heart is already badly damaged, fixing the valve actually makes the problem worse, for some rather complicated reasons.

It is therefore important to fix the problem early, often when there are no symptoms such as breathlessness. If you are going on to have a Trans-oesophageal echo I suspect you do not live in the US where oesophageal is spelt without the "o" at the front also, you will already have had an echo from the outside of your chest which will have determined that the valve leakage is significant and the heart is under strain. The trans-oesophageal echo gives a much more detailed view of the valve and will determine which bit of it needs fixing. The angiogram will determine if the areties of the heart should be fixed while they are there - no point giong though a major heart operation and then discovering a couple of years later that you needed a bypass at the same time.

As to having a repair rather than a replacement, a repair will mean that you do not need to be on anticoagulants such as warfarin which is required for replacement metal valve (though not replacement tissue ones made out of pig or cow tissue) and some studies have found that repaired valves have a better long term outcome in terms of preserving heart function.

It is important to go with a surgeon who particularly specialises in valve repair rather than one who normally replaces valves as this has become a very specialised field within heart surgery.

If nothing is done about the valve the heart will eventually fail leading to gradually increasing breathlessness, fatigue, fluid overload and eventually a debillitating end. How long that will take will depend on how badly the valve leaks and what sort of state the heart is in now. This must be balanced against the risk of surgery which is highly individual and depends on your age and state of health and surgeon's skill (you should ask the surgeon about his or her own figures) and it must also depend on the likelihood of dying of something else first ie if you have some other serious condition.

I'm afraid this is a very personal choice but I hope this information has been helpful.
Best of luck.

Lucy Said:

Mitral valve repair surgery?

We Answered:

Very basically:
The procedure is open heart and entails a complex system of sustaining life outside your body. The complications can vary. If you get a mechanical valve placed, your risk of embolus increases. Emboli can cause strokes and/or a fatal episode. However, once one recovers from either surgery (typically a short stint in the ICU but varying by the individual) the quality of life improves to better than pre-op. The need for a replacement may arise down the line. Barring any blood clots or infections, a MVP repair/replacement surgery does not by itself indicate anything about how long a patient survives post-op. A repair surgery tends to yield fewer long-term complications simply because no foreign tissue or synthetic material was introduced into one's system and the whole procedure is significantly lower risk in terms of infection. The risk of failure of a repaired valve is significantly lower than that of a replaced valve. Lots of variables influence the outcome though, and if this is a personal matter, I strongly suggest you speak candidly with your cardiologist.

Bottom line:
Repair surgery is generally safer and can allow the patient to live life fully.

Armando Said:

Are heavy night sweats and coughing normal after mitral valve surgery?

We Answered:

Have you talked with your
cardiologist about this? Is
he/she the one that did the
surgery?
You definitely need to talk to
your doctor about this (the
one that did the surgery.)
If he's not available soon, talk
to your cardiologist.