| Message | Hi Shayne. We attended Akiba together, and my mother's family founded Tiferet Israel, where your late father served as rabbi and presided over my Bar Mitzvah, in Dallas a long time ago. I googled you a while back and learned of your passion for the group America and then heard back in Dallas later of your heart problems. I had a valve replacement myself in Dallas in Dec. 2000 to fix a leaky aortic valve that I had since birth. My surgeon, Dr. Will Ryan, is one of a number of cardiothoracic surgeons who perform the Ross Procedure. A person's good pulmonary valve is used to replace the faulty aortic valve, while a corpse valve is used to replace the pulmonary valve. Direct transplants of the aortic valve don't seem to work. The advantage of the Ross Procedure is that, if done properly, there's a very small likelihood of further surgery (10%) and no need for upkeep -- no blood thinning medication or any other medication for that matter. I resumed my long-distance running a few months of my surgery. It's a good option for aortic valve transplant candidates.
Stay well.
David |