I'm a Dr., but not the kind that helps people.
DW's family has had a few people with mitral valve issues (some sort of genetic issue, presumably). Her brother had one replaced many years ago. Her nephew had a minimally invasive surgery done for his mitral valve repair several years ago at a young age (39 IIRC) and then needed another surgery done a year ago since that repair was not done well. That surgery was done via the standard sternotomy. He indicated recovery from both wasn't that different.
DW had her mitral valve repaired (complex repair and weren't sure it would be possible) just over a year ago. During the same procedure they also did a minor repair to the tricuspid valve and an ablation for afib. She also has a small amount of regurgitation in her aortic valve, but not enough to do anything. Had a sternotomy. She had/has an enlarged heart due to the decline over many years and inefficiency. Her condition has improved significantly since surgery.
So my comments. First, I was not aware there is any TA option for mitral valve as posted above. However, I had a discussion with her surgeon (who is a top guy, relatively young, and very into minimally invasive where appropriate). He told me the TA option for the aortic valve is for stenotic cases where the new valve can be screwed into the calcified tissues. Not for insufficiency/regurgitation. We discussed the mitral clip, but as indicated that was not a consideration for her since she could handle the major surgery. My understanding is those are used primarily for individuals who aren't major surgical candidates.
Having a surgeon you are comfortable with makes a huge difference. Being older and more experienced is not always a pro. Younger surgeons have more stamina and are more up on the current state of the art. We were fortunate to have a new guy in town who is well respected and highly recruited. For comparison, we were down to 3 names in the eastern US (2 at Cleveland Clinic and 1 in NY) that her regular cardiologist had given us prior to this guy moving to town. We've known for a few years that surgery was a when, not an if, so had been expecting to make a road trip. Can't say enough good things about him, both the job he did and his bed side manner. If you have any interest in his name please PM me.
If it was me, I'd probably get a second surgical opinion. As others have said, I offer you best wishes, it's no fun dealing with major health issues.
DW's family has had a few people with mitral valve issues (some sort of genetic issue, presumably). Her brother had one replaced many years ago. Her nephew had a minimally invasive surgery done for his mitral valve repair several years ago at a young age (39 IIRC) and then needed another surgery done a year ago since that repair was not done well. That surgery was done via the standard sternotomy. He indicated recovery from both wasn't that different.
DW had her mitral valve repaired (complex repair and weren't sure it would be possible) just over a year ago. During the same procedure they also did a minor repair to the tricuspid valve and an ablation for afib. She also has a small amount of regurgitation in her aortic valve, but not enough to do anything. Had a sternotomy. She had/has an enlarged heart due to the decline over many years and inefficiency. Her condition has improved significantly since surgery.
So my comments. First, I was not aware there is any TA option for mitral valve as posted above. However, I had a discussion with her surgeon (who is a top guy, relatively young, and very into minimally invasive where appropriate). He told me the TA option for the aortic valve is for stenotic cases where the new valve can be screwed into the calcified tissues. Not for insufficiency/regurgitation. We discussed the mitral clip, but as indicated that was not a consideration for her since she could handle the major surgery. My understanding is those are used primarily for individuals who aren't major surgical candidates.
Having a surgeon you are comfortable with makes a huge difference. Being older and more experienced is not always a pro. Younger surgeons have more stamina and are more up on the current state of the art. We were fortunate to have a new guy in town who is well respected and highly recruited. For comparison, we were down to 3 names in the eastern US (2 at Cleveland Clinic and 1 in NY) that her regular cardiologist had given us prior to this guy moving to town. We've known for a few years that surgery was a when, not an if, so had been expecting to make a road trip. Can't say enough good things about him, both the job he did and his bed side manner. If you have any interest in his name please PM me.
If it was me, I'd probably get a second surgical opinion. As others have said, I offer you best wishes, it's no fun dealing with major health issues.