Leaky Valve

Hello,

My boyfriend (33years old and very fit) has recently been diagnosed with a leaky valve possibly causing pulmonary hypertension. He is very bad with details so this may all sound a bit vague - sorry!
This was all discovered while on a sailing holiday where he had chest pains that felt like an elephant was standing on his chest, left arm and leg.
What I need to know is, if he requires valve repair, what is the recovery like? does it have to be open heart surgery? will he be suffering the after affects of this for the rest of his life? will he be able to get back to normal, competitive sailing and biking, running, etc?
Also, he recently went sailing again in very bad conditions and came back with bright blue/purple eyelids and lips, while being totally exhausted unable to stay awake during the day. A friend suggested this was due to a lack of oxygen, is this correct? What should he do if this happens again?

Thank you very much for any advise you can give!

[CCF-M.D.-RCJ]

Rollo,

Thanks for the post.

Q1:"if he requires valve repair, what is the recovery like?"

It depends on the valve that needs attention, but most young people with a smooth operation can expect to leave the hospital in 4-7 days, and back to work in 4-6 weeks.

Q2:"does it have to be open heart surgery?"

Yes.

Q3:"will he be suffering the after affects of this for the rest of his life? "

Most people do not.

Q4:"will he be able to get back to normal, competitive sailing and biking, running, etc?"

Our goal at surgery is to get people back to doing their normal activities.  The results expected for your boyfriend depend on what needs to be done.

Q5:"Also, he recently went sailing again in very bad conditions and came back with bright blue/purple eyelids and lips, while being totally exhausted unable to stay awake during the day. A friend suggested this was due to a lack of oxygen, is this correct?"

I don't know without seeing him, but what you describe could be consistent with cyanosis (lack of oxygen).  It certainly needs evaluation.

Hope that helps.  

[Kimma]

sorry this is off topic, im just wondering if glassheart is still around and how you are doing???
kim
***@****

[glassheart46]

Yes, Glassheart is still around.  I have been reading but not posting.  I am recoupering from more surgery.  Had to have bone grafting on shoulder cyst 7 weeks ago.  Still have torn rotator cuff.  Been in a lot of pain and unable to type without pain but doing much better as time goes on.  Thanks for asking about me Kimma.  Hope your IST is doing better since your ablation.  My heart settled down finally about 2 months ago except for pac's and a few small speed ups.  I feel very fortunate that the ablation for AVNRT worked for me and hope you will soon be on track as well.

[Momto3]

Hi Glassheart!!

So happy to see you!  Sorry to hear about your additional surgery.  How long before the doctor thinks you will be out of pain?  Very soon, I hope!!  I've missed seeing you on the boards and I'm so glad to hear your ablation was successful!!  Connie

[jm678]

Just to give you some perspective...

My sister had a mitral valve repair at age 33-34 and she always says how much more energy she's had after surgery.  Her recovery after surgery was about 3 months -- mostly just pain due to the sternotomy (she had a partial sternotomy not a full one).  She ended up taking advil + vicadin to keep the pain to a minimum.  She could do most daily activities within a month, including driving.  She has not looked back at her surgery since.  She had the option of undergoing a minimally invasive surgery through a "port access" procedure but there was some problem with the equipment so the hospital discontinued doing that procedure for a limited time.

Dad on the other hand had a mitral and aortic valve replacement (mechanical) through a full sternotomy (only option for him).  He had an injection of pain medication given directly into his bone before the operation (it was a clinical trial) and was one of the best things he did.  He took nothing but T3's for the first couple weeks after surgery and then plain tylenol at most.  Because he wouldn't have his condition treated for about 25 years, his heart hasn't shown the same level of recovery.  His blood flow is back to normal as his his heart rhythm, but his heart is still weak and he's required to take extra medication as a preventative measure.  Because he has mechanical valves, he is on lifetime anticoagulation therapy.  Otherwise, he was driving within one month and hammering and sawing away in about 2-3 months!!  

A piece of advice, make sure to use pure Vitamin E oil or Maderma on the incision site starting a couple weeks after surgery to keep scarring to a minimum.  Whether or not you have a visible scar depends mostly on how your surgeon sews it up although post-op treatment definately helps.  My sister had a well-experienced surgeon (he even did some TV surgeries) but a plastic surgeon she saw some time later laughed and said it could have been much better.  On the other hand, the assisting resident sewed my dad's incision and every doctor who examined him in the hospital commented on how well it was done -- he used some inside-out technique or something.  

Best wishes...

[glassheart46]

Hi to you too!  Happy to hear from you as well.  The healing process for my shoulder graft will be close to 6 months.  Doc said the pain will get less and less as time goes by.  Sure hope so.  It has been a tough 7 months.  But, I'm sure others have gone through worse.  How are you doing since your last ablation?

[Momto3]

WOW! I'm glad to hear that you were able to have your shoulder surgery, but I'm sorry the recoup period is so long.  Be sure to take care of yourself and pamper that shoulder.

I am doing very well since the second ablation. The speed ups are rare and the extra beats are infrequent. I never realized how used to the extra beats I actually was.  Since 24% of my beats were ectopics, it was just a way of life for me. I had to "adjust" to a normal rhythm.  Now that I have, it's great! I sent you an email with more updates : )  Connie