My mother is 40 and is going in on the 21st for an aeortioc valve replacement. We are so stress on deciding between what type of valve she should have to get. please help. please include things like costs and medicines and anything else that will give us more info.
This is definitely a question for your cardiologist. I can tell you that mechanical valves will require a higher INR and they will have more problems with bleeding. A tissue valve won't last as long as mechanical, and may have to be replaced sooner.
Your initial respondant hit on the basic question - 1. A biologic valve which will need a least one replacement again sometime in your mother's lifetime (though maybe at that time a better alternative might be available). 2. A mechanical valve which has an unlimited lifetime but requires life-long and very careful attendant focus on taking anti-coagulation medication, lest she be at risk for stroke or complications associated with bleeding. On the positive, it typically never requires replacement. At this point, both valves are likely to do the job. I have ancedotally seen some unfortunate complications associated with biologic valves - but it may have to do with biologic valves being used more frequently as most individuals needing this surgery are older. (and therefore select the biologic valve more frequently) Having an open heart surgery is about as big of an operation as you can have and is never undertaken lightly - let alone thinking of making a decision to have several of these surgeries over a time. It is a highly personal decision which does not have a right answer. If your mother is very good about taking medication and getting follow-up blood tests, then a mechanical valve might be right for her. If she has multiple other medical problems and is generally of ill health, she might want to consider the biologic valve. Generally speaking, for a woman in her 40's, generally healthy, and generally good about following regimen, then a mechancal valve is probably the right way to go for her. I hope this is helpful. Good luck to you and your Mother.
I okorder /... okorder and I will answer from my personal experience. The only difference in her surgery and mine is that they are replacing her aortic valve and I had my mitral valve replaced. Oh, I forgot to add about costs, depends upon State you live in. Here in NC my surgery in 2003 was about $60,000 to $70,000 (but I did have insurance and I only ended up having to pay $2,500. I was in the hospital for 9 days also.
