Lub Dub

Behold the beating human heart.

It is an awe-inspiring sight to some, a ghastly vision to others.

You might say beholding the human heart in its natural state is akin to gazing upon a newborn babe. Some are touched beyond measure. Others think it needs a good cleaning and one of those fuzzy caps, and the sooner the better.

I have not had a baby.

But I have seen my own beating heart and it could use a fuzzy cap, too.

All this came about because I had surgery for my prolapsed mitral valve in January of this year. A prolapsed valve is one that stretches too much. My doctor said most people have valves that don't stretch because they are similar to a fabric like cotton, but mine had too much elastic in it and was like panty hose.

Over the years the valve had begun to stretch out of shape and balloon in the wrong place (sounds like panty hose all right) and eventually it allowed oxygenated blood from my lungs to leak backwards with every beat. Once I had researched and thought about it for nearly a year I finally convinced myself that repairing the valve (in a surgery called a valvuloplasty) was the right decision... to stave off progressive weakening of the heart muscle and very possibly congestive heart failure. (By the way, if you have mitral valve prolapse, which is diagnosed in about 15% of the population, do not worry! Only about 1% of mvp sufferers ever have their valve progress to where it needs surgery. )

Aren't I the lucky one! I don't know why I don't beat these kind of odds when I buy a lottery ticket.

My surgery, at UCLA Med Center in Westwood, California, involved a couple of unusual things: a robot, and a Lifetime Television camera.

Lifetime TV was there to do a story on minimally invasive heart surgery, and had asked my surgeon (Dr. Richard Shemin, head of Cardiothoracic Surgery at UCLA) if they could meet one of his patients and follow him or her through the surgery. The Da Vinci robot enabled my doctor to perform open heart surgery without opening the chest. My incision is about 3 inches long and hidden under my right breast. My dreams of being a pole dancer have not been dashed. And besides, my recovery period was shorter ... and the risk to me less ... thanks to the robotic assistance.

My story appeared on the Walgreen sponsored "Health Corner" which appears each Sunday morning on the Lifetime channel. In fact, it you'd like to see the little 5-minute story of my open heart, bypass surgery, here is the link. http://healthcorner.walgreens.com/display/1812.htm

Lifetime's cameras were allowed in the operating room. On February 24, when it first aired, I was watching the little story of my Great Adventure when suddenly, ready or not, I got to see my heart.

I'm not quite sure how I feel about the experience. For one thing, I'm a bit of a heart phobic. I feel about my heart the way I feel about my car engine. Don't open the hood, don't explain how the pistons and the ignition and the doohinkeys work...just let me turn the key and drive off. I don't want to know much about the inner workings of my car or my heart. I just want to know they're going to get me where I need to go.

In another blog I'll share some interesting tidbits about open heart bypass surgery. It is amazing and a miracle and I am grateful and relieved to have it three months behind me. If anyone would like any more information on mitral valve repair surgery, e mail me - I'll be happy to respond.