Heart valve replacement

Here's the deal. Most likely it cant be repaired. So they replace it. In addition, I have an a dilated Aortic root. Basically the aorta right above the valve is bigger than it should be. They see this often in leaky Aortic valve patients. Which came first, the dilation or the valve problem is unknown.

So the choices are: artificial valve, pig valve or calf valve. The artificial is likely permanent but you must take and manage anticoagulants for the rest of your life. The pig valve requires no anticoagulants but they only last 10-15 years. Same with the calf valve. So the choice is do it once with Coumadin or Wafarin therapy etc or come back in 10-15 years for a redo.

Many people struggle with this decision. It was easy for me. Quality of life. That meant the pig or calf valve. The surgeon liked calf, so its calf valve for me. I also hope they can replace it in a less invasive way in 2023.

I still needed to determine if this surgeon is the ONE.