1. < Aortic Aneurysms

Valve sparing aortic root 5.4cm pre op questions…?

Posted by belo @belo, Mar 19 3:13pm

Greetings to this group,
I’m a 73 y.o. male with a 5.4 root aneurysm, who has been active my entire life, from a farming family in the Philippines to being cross country hiker t/o parts of the USA and world, including high altitude,
Still remaining active with flat cycling with my dog and playing A/elite level racquetball for 2 1/2hrs 3 times per/week.
Little history, I was diagnosed and successfully treated in 1999 for Pritz Metal angina when it was also then discovered that I also had a 4.4cm root aneurysm. Fast forward to 2013 I changed healthcare plans and got a new cardiologist who then ordered more images of my aneurysm which had then grown to 4.9 and he then said that I required immediate surgery…
I opted for a second opinion / referral thru a group of my pediatric cardiologist & surgical team that I had the pleasure of working with at the time and they all recommended seeing Stanford’s aorta guru/surgeon Craig Miller. Who then took ownership of my care, and ordered surveillance with bi-annual images, good B/P management and routine clinic visits . It’s been 12 very, very good years later!
Thank you to those of you who have gotten this far in my lengthy message.

And now leading into my question- I recently had a good Clevland virtual consult and next week I am again (2 time) meeting with the new aortic surgeon (Dr. Miller has retired) and obviously both are now obviously recommending surgery - valve sparing.
That said, for those of you that have either gone thru or are now contemplating this crossroad - what are some of the questions that one might ask to be better prepared?
Any and all questions are please welcomed!
Thank for taking the time!

Peace,
Isabelo

Interested in more discussions like this? Go to the Aortic Aneurysms Support Group.

houston13 | @houston13 | Mar 19 7:29pm

I had mine 5 years ago, i had an ascending aortic aneurysm not quite at the root but close and a bicuspid aortic valve that had the potential of needing replacement. Having been active all your life and in good physical shape will now pay dividends, I also was in great shape, exercised often and my surgeon gave me higher than 99% probability of no complications. I was out of the hospital in 5 days and back to work in 3 weeks. I was exercising again a few months later. They left my valve in place as it was still in good shape, it will need replacement at some point but hopefully it will be a few years and that will be done through catheter. Make sure you get a good cardiologist you can follow up with after surgery, the surgeon will drop out after a couple of visits and the cardiologist will take over for the rest of your life. My surgeon referred me to one who is an expert in aortic diseases, and he has been wonderful, he answers any and every question I may have. He also orders full aortic scans every 4 years to ensure no other aneurysms are appearing (there’s a propensity in my family). The surgery is tough but bearable, painful at the beginning but the body heals quickly, I found a lot of great input from people that had had OH surgery, small things like I installed a bidet toilet seat (reaching back with your arm is a little painful) and that was useful. Listen to your surgeon!!!

REPLY
1 reply
drumm | @drumm | Mar 19 8:32pm
In reply to @houston13 "I had mine 5 years ago, i had an ascending aortic aneurysm not quite at the..." + (show)
@houston13

I had mine 5 years ago, i had an ascending aortic aneurysm not quite at the root but close and a bicuspid aortic valve that had the potential of needing replacement. Having been active all your life and in good physical shape will now pay dividends, I also was in great shape, exercised often and my surgeon gave me higher than 99% probability of no complications. I was out of the hospital in 5 days and back to work in 3 weeks. I was exercising again a few months later. They left my valve in place as it was still in good shape, it will need replacement at some point but hopefully it will be a few years and that will be done through catheter. Make sure you get a good cardiologist you can follow up with after surgery, the surgeon will drop out after a couple of visits and the cardiologist will take over for the rest of your life. My surgeon referred me to one who is an expert in aortic diseases, and he has been wonderful, he answers any and every question I may have. He also orders full aortic scans every 4 years to ensure no other aneurysms are appearing (there’s a propensity in my family). The surgery is tough but bearable, painful at the beginning but the body heals quickly, I found a lot of great input from people that had had OH surgery, small things like I installed a bidet toilet seat (reaching back with your arm is a little painful) and that was useful. Listen to your surgeon!!!

Jump to this post

Houston13, May I ask where you had your surgery done and the surgeon? I have an aortic root dilation of 4.4cm and if surgery is needed in the future, I'd like a high quality center with a surgeon & team that does this often.

Thanks in advance.
d

REPLY
1 reply
houston13 | @houston13 | Mar 19 9:16pm
In reply to @drumm "Houston13, May I ask where you had your surgery done and the surgeon? I have an..." + (show)
@drumm

Houston13, May I ask where you had your surgery done and the surgeon? I have an aortic root dilation of 4.4cm and if surgery is needed in the future, I'd like a high quality center with a surgeon & team that does this often.

Thanks in advance.
d

Jump to this post

I live in Houston and I had mine done at the Texas Medical Center by Dr Anthony Estrera, https://www.utphysicians.com/provider/anthony-l-estrera/
an absolutely amazing thoracic surgeon, probably the best in Houston, and the nicest person. My cardiologist is Dr Siddharth Prakash, https://www.utphysicians.com/provider/siddharth-k-prakash/
referred by Dr Estrera, he is an Aortic Disease specialist, an amazing knowledgeable cardiologist, he is now my cardiologist for life

Hope that helps, those are the links to their bios

REPLY
1 reply
dianelynn | @dianelynn | Mar 20 6:15pm

Fantastic !
So no surgery as of yet !!
What’s the secret diet ?
I’m 5.4 up .2 in a year - hesitant.
Diane

REPLY
drumm | @drumm | Mar 20 8:10pm
In reply to @houston13 "I live in Houston and I had mine done at the Texas Medical Center by Dr..." + (show)
@houston13

I live in Houston and I had mine done at the Texas Medical Center by Dr Anthony Estrera, https://www.utphysicians.com/provider/anthony-l-estrera/
an absolutely amazing thoracic surgeon, probably the best in Houston, and the nicest person. My cardiologist is Dr Siddharth Prakash, https://www.utphysicians.com/provider/siddharth-k-prakash/
referred by Dr Estrera, he is an Aortic Disease specialist, an amazing knowledgeable cardiologist, he is now my cardiologist for life

Hope that helps, those are the links to their bios

Jump to this post

Thank you houston13. It does help a great deal! I live in San Antonio & came to Houston last January to see Dr Nasir for CAD consultation. (He's the protege to Dr Agatston who invented the CAC score) I will be looking up Dr Estrera & Prakash with the help of your info. Thanks again so much as this is such a critical decision!!

Wishing you excellent health!!! d

REPLY
Please sign in or register to post a reply.