On Wednesday, Nov 3rd, I had my heart worked on. Instead of open heart surgery, though, we have new technology -- minimally invasive. The conduit from my right ventricle to my pulmonary artery was narrowed and had a lot of back-pressure into the heart. In the past the repair would have involved opening the chest and going on the heart-lung machine, the whole complicated deal. Not any more.
Today they can go in with a catheter and insert a stent with a valve built into it, without major surgery, and under only a light general anesthetic. I was out of the hospital the next day. The device is called the Melody Transcathether Pulmonary Valve and is newly approved for implantation in the US as of January 2010.
This video was taken during the procedure after the Melody was in place and working. I hope to post some additional videos later. In the mean time, I'm doing good and thankful for my family's support.
Various and Sundry
3 days ago
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