15 year old A.S.D

[achybreakyheart]

In september i was diagnosed with an atrial septal defect. i am only 15 years old. my dilema is whether i should recieve the surgery using a catheder, much less invasive, or open heart surgery. at first, open heart surgery was a big no-no but recently i have been told that because the small catheder devices that would be implanted into my heart have only been around for 20 years. thats plenty of time for those who are in their fifty's to receive the full benefit of the device but being only 15, i could be wearing this for 70 more years! whats to say it wont run out and that equals and replacement by open heart surgery! what should i do?

[achybreakyheart]

Thank you so much for your comment. It really helped me make my mind up about the surgery. I have decided to go for the less invasive surgery, with a 60% chance that it'll work. once again, thanks, i really appreciated it:)

[irpwsas]

I know how scary getting news like this can be. My sister had a cardiac condition since she was 15 and that was really hard to deal with, esp. with high school. I just got diagnosed with subaortic stenosis in my early thirties (while I was expecting a baby), and getting the news, I suddenly felt like I was a 12 year old kid. I was hearing doctors talking about "options" and using these terms I never heard before and I thought I was losing my mind at first. It gets better once you meet with a few doctors face to face and you have a chance to ask lots of questions and weigh everything they are telling you.  From your question, you sound like you are very mature and intelligent young person. I will pray that you and your family will get the answers you need to make the best decision for you.

I am not a doctor but maybe to alleviate your concern about the next 70 years, consider this: my sister had cardiac procedure when she was 16 (she's 29 now, healthy and strong, and you'd never know what she went through in the past). Back then it was a 5-6 hour long procedure and she was in the hospital for days. That was 12 years ago.  Now, it's a 30 minute procedure with a 1 day hospital observation afterwards. So, when you are considering what is right for you, don't get too caught up thinking about 70 years from now because who knows what scientific advancements will be made by then? Just go with the what your doctors/surgeons recommend is best for you considering ALL the circumstances (the known/published risks involved with both procedures, your gender/age as a factor, your doctor/surgeon's amount of experience performing these procedures, recovery time, what the effects will be on your quality of life with each...etc.) Lastly, during these consults, I would look the doctors/surgeons in the eyes and ask, "if I were your child, what would you recommend?"

The best thing I have learned is to get a second and even a third opinion (tie breaker) before you do anything, and keep asking questions until you feel you are comfortable you have all the information you need. That way, you will know you've done the best you can given the situation, and you will not have regrets. I am praying for you but I have a feeling you are already on the right track with all the questions you are asking. Good luck and I hope you find the answers you are looking for. In 10 years from now, I bet you'll be finishing medical school and working on helping the rest of us! :-)