corrected TOF adult needing more surgery

[Scottie]

Background:..female adult age 40,corrected TOF ,lived normal life ,had three children.Cath showed increased pressure in the right sided pumping chamber caused by fibres or tissue below the pulmonary valve ...suggested that surgery should be done to cut away as much as possible of the tissue which is the principle cause of the narrowing..and adding a small patch in the outflow tract of the right sided pumping chamber below the pulmonary valve to widen it sufficiently.
Questions
A) would you agree that surgery is the only way to reduce the work of the heart on this side?
B) would symptoms for this be tiredness(fatigue) with some breathless and palpations at times ?
C) have you come across this before ?
Thankyou for your time
Scottie

[CCF-M.D.-CRC]

Dear Scottie,
A) would you agree that surgery is the only way to reduce the work of the heart on this side?
A: If the increase in right sided pressures (and perhaps a decrease in pumping function) is due to the outflow obstruction then the only way to stop this progression is by surgery.

B) would symptoms for this be tiredness(fatigue) with some breathless and palpations at times ?
A: This would be typical symptoms for right sided heart failure.

C) have you come across this before ?
A: I personally do not treat a lot of congenital heart disease but I would suspect this is not an uncommon problem in adults with corrected TOF.

[debra21784]

Am curious, Did your cardiac surgeon tell you this surgery was necessary and what sort of testing did he do?If your cardiac surgeon said the surgery was necessary I would tend to go with it.They don't lightly recommend surgery of this nature unless necessary.I personally would go to a academic /medical center for the surgery and find a cardiac surgeon that does both children and adults.That is what I did when I required open heart surgey and I don't regret using this guy one bit A course a second opinion would never hurt.Good luck

[pikamom]

Yes, it would be good for you to get a second opinion. Make sure to ask lots of questions so you understand your options, what will happen with/without surgery. Is your condition life threatening if you don't have the surgery, will it progress, etc. What are the dangers of having surgery and is the surgery more of a risk than not having it.

[Scottie]

Thankyou all for your prompt replies ...yes surgery has been recommended to me by my Congenital Cardiologist after a heart Cath and the normal heart function tests but I am also experiencing the fatigue the I asked about.I just wondered if this fatigue/breathlessness and palps could be my imagination .I am due to meet with the Surgeon soon ..just wanted to ask the questions
Thanks Scottie