bicuspid aortic valve repair Vs. replacement?

Posted By Janelle on December 14, 1998 at 13:15:50:







I am anticipating having valve surgery at the Cleveland Clinic soon.  The surgeon, after viewing my Echo tapes said that he thought there was a good chance that he could repair the valve instead of replacing it.  I have done some research on the options for AVR, but did not realize that repair for congenital aortic insufficiency was an option.  The prospect of having my own valve repaired is very appealing to me because I am only 30 years old, and am not a good candidate for a mechanical valve because of a bleeding tendency.  I was told that I would most likely require a second AVR sometime down the road.  I would appreciate any information regarding this surgery ie how long has it been being performed,  what is the long term outlook for someone having aortic valve repair Vs. replacement (is it likely that a young person undergoing this operation would require further surgery after the valve has been repaire. Would any medication be required?  What are the contraindications for this procedure?  I would like to research this further, can you cite any journal articles that I could look up?  Thank-you once again for this service.  It has been incredibly helpful to me.  If anyone reading this post has had Aortic valve repair, please e-mail me.  I would love to hear what your experience was like.