Hi....my boyfriend is currently waiting to have heart valve replacement surgery and im a little worried about the whole thing...he doesnt like talking about it but if someone knows the answer to my questions I'd be so greatful!!First of all a little detail....he is 19, as far as i know he was born with this problem with his valve but it has got worse over time. he was also born with a hole in his heart but had an operation as a baby to fix this. he gets short of breath and often has pains in his chest. he says hes going to have a pigs heart valve to replace his, by open heart surgery (in a few months time). my main worry is whether the operations are always successful? and will this condition/operation affect his life expectancy??please if there are any experts in the field help put my mind to rest....!thanksshelly x
Open heart surgery is always a risk, as is any major surgery. The main risks are from infection and blood clots. The risks taper off very quickly within a few days after the surgery. Heart valve replacements are a common operation, with a high success rate. Life expectancy is generally better with a valve replacement; but not all valve problems reduce life expectancy to begin with. Sometimes the trade-offs are more of an issue with quality of life, with higher quality achieved with a functioning heart valve, so some people may be taking a medical risk to obtain higher quality of life. No one can tell you for certain what the outcome of this operation will be. The odds are very high that everything will go perfectly and he will fell better than ever before. There is a very small chance that he will end up worse To put the risks in perspective, a person i know had minor surgery to her knee - a simple 1 hour operation done at an outpatient clinic. Ten days later, a clot broke loose and she died in her sleep. I have had the same operation twice and didn't even miss more than a few hours of work. Another person i know had severe heart problems and docs said it was terminal, but an operation could prolong his life maybe 5-7 years. He had the operation and its now been almost 20 years and his cardiologist says his heart is healthy and there's no reason why he might not live another 20 years or more.
