We worked with Dr. Miller's staff and we now have a scheduled date for Jon's aortic valve replacement surgery.
Surgery by Dr. Craig Miller (http://stanfordhospital.org/profiles/physician/D_Miller/) will take place at the Stanford University Medical Center in Stanford, California on Friday, September 18. Deb and I will fly out to California on Wednesday, Sept 16. Pre-surgery tests and consultation with Dr. Miller take place on Sept. 17. At present our return to Minnesota is planned for a worst case contingency of Oct 6. Hospital stay is expected to be 5-10 days, with an average of 7. At that point, we could fly home when discharged, but they need to see me once after the surgery. So, we are going to hang around in Silicon Valley for our follow-up appointment with Dr. Miller. Deb will be staying at the Stanford Guesthouse during our time in California (I will have accommodations for most of my stay and will join her at the Guesthouse following my discharge :-)
Surgery plan is still uncertain regarding mechanical vs. tissue aortic valve replacement, but best advice says mechanical and that means a St. Jude mechanical to boot. Not a wonderful pill for a Medtronic guy to swallow :-( But, they clearly have the best product on the market at this time when it comes to mechanical valves. I'm still exploring tissue valves, which would be a Medtronic product. No easy answers here! Expecting some repair or replacement of the aortic root and the ascending aorta as well. Surgery will require a full open-heart procedure including the split sternum and heart bypass during the procedure. I will have to talk to my friends in perfusion to make sure we have all the good Medtronic hardware there for the heart lung machine!
Recovery time is expected to be approximately 8 weeks.
Information about my condition (bicuspid arotic valve disease) can be found at:
We know many of you are worried and concerned, and we expect that many of you have no idea what to say. Don't sweat it. We're worried and concerned as well, but we're looking forward to me feeling better somewhere on the other side of all this. We also have no idea what to say except thanks for all the good thoughts, prayers, and wishes we've received already and the ones we know we will continue to receive. Deb and I thank all of you for what you have done already and for what you may do over the next 3 - 4 months. We can't do it without you all!
Thanks,
Jon & Deb
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