Valve replacement

Back-blipping on 5 February 2020


A lot of the first half of 2019 was a tussle between different medical consultants. I'd known for some time that I had an AAA (abdominal Aortic Aneurysm). The size was manageable for a good while, but began to reach worry-about-it territory as the year went on. My vascular consultant had accepted back in August 2018 that I'd need an EVAR (EndoVascular Aneurysm Repair), but wasn't prepared to do anything until various heart-related problems were first sorted out.

The first of these (a TAVI — aka Transcatheter Aortic Valve Implantation) happened on 21st June 2019 in the Mater hospital. Thanks to the wonders of modern medical science, the procedure is an example of keyhole surgery under local anaesthetic. It involves post-op monitoring, though, so I knew I wouldn't be let out for three days. Unfortunately, a rhythmic irregularity showed up and the consultant decided that I'd need to have a pacemaker fitted and that I might as well stay in hospital and have that done right away.

Also unfortunately, my stay coincided with a 24-hour strike by hospital support staff, so my expected 3-day stay turned into a 6-day one. Still, I came away with a new valve and a shiny new pacemaker, and I was one step closer to the EVAR.

The blip shows the operating theatre where the TAVI happened on the 21st and the pacemaker was fitted on the 26th.