I was diagnosed with a VSD and a Biscuspid Aortic Valve and my doctor has started hinting towards sugery. I found out that the only reason i haven't had surgery yet is that it is stable enough to wait until technology improves so i am not left with a large scar. i was just wondering what this surgery would entail and if anyone has had it. I am 19 years old and kind of worried about it...
My daughter was diagnosed with this same thing when she was 10 days old. It has been a miracle that she has not needed any medication or surgery. She meets with the cardiologist 1 time a year. They told me if she stays as stable as she is she will not need surgery. Maybe if your condition stays as stable as it is now, you will never need surgery. I know that when they repair a VSD they do open heart surgery and put a patch over the hole that is in your heart. Sometimes these patches fail and they do surgery 2 or 3 times and it is common. I know that Bicuspid Aortic Valve is an inherited abnormality and that it becomes more sever in your 30's and 40's. Most patients with bicuspid aortic valve whose valve becomes dysfunctional will need careful follow-up and potentially valve replacement in their third or fourth decade of life. Patients with bicuspid aortic valve should be followed by cardiologist or cardiac surgeon with specific interest in this valve pathology. Average lifespan is similar to that of those without the anomaly. In many cases, the condition will cause no problems. However, especially in later life, a bicuspid aortic valve may become calcified, which may lead to varying degrees of severity of aortic stenosis and aortic regurgitation, which will manifest as murmurs. If these become severe enough, they may require heart surgery. I hope this helps and good luck with everything.
VSD or ventricular septal defect is a congenital disease caused by failure of your ventricular septum to fuse with the bulbar ridges of your atrial septum during embryogenesis. Some VSD are fine since only a small amount of blood is shunted from LV to RV but a majority is still shunted straight to the aorta. An aortic valve stenosis which I think is what you are referring to is usually an adult disease associated with rheumatic fever, mechanical breakdown from hypertension, or death from an MI. Aortic valve stenosis is a bit more worrisome since this can lower the output of your heart by acting as an obstruction, which overtime can cause ventricular hypertrophy, a disease with whole set of other problems. New trends in VSD repair uses minimally-invasive surgery using a transcatheter that is inserted esophageally or through femoral artery; very small scars and short recovery time. Aortic valve repair may also be done this way in the future, but if your aortic valve is still patent, there is no need to replace it at this moment because it would require a donor and open heart surgery.
