Ascending Aortic Aneurysm

Marlo and I met with the surgeon this morning. I really like him. He is a nice guy, personable and very knowledgable. He explained that I have an ascending aortic aneurysm. While not the first time I heard this term, this was the first time it was attributed to my condition. Dr. Guber showed me diagrams and slides of my actual heart while explaining my condition. The surgery involves the doctor cutting open my chest, sawing my breastbone down the middle, removing the aneurysm and repairing it with a synthetic material. I actually FORGOT to ask what type of material. I have heard that they use GoreTex to repair the aorta. While in surgery, I will be put on a heart-lung machine to "breath" for me and pump blood throughout my body. It is weird that my heart will not be beating for a few hours while the work is being done.

There was some potential good news. Dr. Guber said that my aortic valve actually looks really good and that he might NOT have to replace the valve. This was the most exciting thing I heard today. He said that he will know once he actually can look at the valve if it needs to be replaced. If the valve does look bad, he will remove it and put a mechanical valve in it's place. This will require me to be on blood thinners for the rest of my life. But the positive side is that the valve will not require replacement, granted it doesn't get infected or I get into a major accident. There are some lifestyle adjustments for people on blood thinners. Mostly with diet...he said basically you have to eat a balanced diet. I do eat a balanced diet, so I think I could handle it. Contrary to a lot of the info out there, he said he would allow me one glass of wine a day while on blood thinners. I do enjoy my wine, so this was good. If I'm on blood thinners I cannot do any hard core sports, but I can still work out, run and cardio, pretty much what I was doing before. So much for my extreme skydiving aspirations.

I also have the option of a pig valve or human valve. These valves do not last forever, and need to be replaced 10-20 years down the road. I would not have to be on blood thinners if I opt for a tissue valve. But the knowing that I will definitely face another open heart surgery in 10-15 years is something I do not want.

So if my valve wasn't to blame for the enlarged aorta, then what happened? The doctor thinks I have some connective tissue disorder in my aorta which caused it to stretch. I've never been diagnosed with anything like this. I guess I'll hear more about this down the line.

Dr. Guber said that if I opted to not get this fixed now, I could face a dissected aorta and possible rupture in the near future, probably less than 5 years. He recommended surgery within a month or two.

My surgery is scheduled for Friday, June 26 at 8 a.m.