Life after valve replacement surgery?

My mom, 58, is having heart valve replacement surgery tomorrow morning. They are replacing the aortic valve and possibly the mitric valve as well - they were unable to determine from their pre-operative tests if the mitric valve replacement would be necessary and won't know until during the surgery. In any case, she's opted for the tissue / animal replacement valves rather than the artificial mechanical valve.

Understandably, she's quite scared about many aspects of this procedure, especially, I think, what her life is going to be like afterwards. If there's anyone who can share their experiences as to what sort of life one can live after this type of procedure, both in the near term (recovery) and the long term, I would really appreciate hearing from you.

I'd also like to know, if anyone does know, how undergoing this procedure might affect one's ability to undergo physical therapy. To make a long story short, she was in the hospital for about two weeks with a variety of issues (including a staph infection that the doctors think probably lead to her heart valve damage), then she was discharged to a nursing home where she was undergoing some physical therapy to help her regain her strength. After she was there for two weeks, the symptoms of her valve damage began to manifest and she's been back in the hospital for the last two weeks as the doctors performed a bunch of tests. So, by the time she's recovered enough from the immediate effects of the surgery to begin physical therapy again, she'll have been 99% bed-ridden for seven or eight weeks at a minimum.

Again, I'd really appreciate hearing from anyone who can lend me any information about this.

hi,this is swati,i'm 26 years old & i've a small baby of 2 & 1/2 year old.i'm sufferinf from severe mitral valve regurgitation.within 1 month i've to go for surgery.either valve repair or replacement.same like u i'm so scared & every time thinking about quality of life after surgery.i've talked so many doctors,they all r saying that definitely u 'll be better after surgery.in a valve surgery case preserving ur own valve is the best option but it depends how much ur valve is damaged.if it is too much then definitely u have to go for replacement.i think u know that after surgery u 've to be careful every time.in case of replacement u have to take anticoagulant through out your life & u also have to check doses of anticoagulant u r taking.there will be more risk if u will not tke medicine properly after surgery.so, according to me a person who is going for heart valve replacement, must have a very good will power & be prepare to make changes in daily life.and what ever the period of life is remaining there enjoy it.my best wishes "May ur mother live long"

Welcome to the forum, swatipri Thank you so much for that information.

I hope your surgery will go smooth and you will feel good afterwards. I will keep my fingers crossed for you and -if you could find the patience for it after having gone through such a serious event- I would appreciate it a lot if you could let us know how you're doing

hi, i also want to know from u that ur mom surgery is over or not & how she is now?which hospital u r going for treatment.can u give some more information about ur mom case?

swatipri I'm afraid bigtm135's post is 2 years old and I don't know if she is still reading here. But, if she sees it I hope she will react a.s.a.p.