Question:
Does anyone out there have pulmonary stenosis and still be able to have surgery?

Everything was progressing just fine with all my pre-op testing, until I saw the cardiologist. I have pulmonary stenosis (narrow pulmonary valve that doesn't open and close properly). I was born with this condition and it was diagnosed at birth. To my knowledge, it's never cause me any problems. Well, at my visit with the cardiologist, he wanted to do an echo, so we did that, they whisked me to another room so they could use a different machine to get "a closer look". He then told me that I needed to have a nuclear test, and I'm now waiting for that to be scheduled. I asked what symptoms I would have if it was causing some problems, and his response was "shortness of breath, swelling of the legs and ankles, and fatigue"; all of which I do have and have had for some time, but have related it all to my weight. He said it could be one or the other or a combination of both. Since that appointment, things are starting to come together a bit. I've noticecd some things in the last year or two that fall into the whole "fluid in my chest" idea. After eating or drinking something hot, I always cough up phlem and have to blow my nose. Sorry to be gross, but it's always clear phlem, nothing that I've eaten or drank. Anyway, if I am having problems, they have a balloon procedure that works very well on children, but tends not to work as well on adults because as we age that valve gets stiffer, coarser, and calcifies, and therefore doesn't respond as well to the balloon. The next step would be to have open heart surgery to replace the vavle. I had never, prior to this appointment, looked up any information on this condition because I've had it since birth and thought it would never cause any problems... Now that I have looked it up, everything I find is relating to a child with pulmonary stenosis. There is no information for an adult. Sorry for being so long and drawn out. Does anyone out there have any experience with this??? I don't know what my outlook regarding surgery is. Right now, they can't tell me that my heart is strong enough to withstand the hours of anesthesia. I am really disappointed and depressed. This was the last of my tests. Everything else went really well. Thank you all for your support and your help.    — Helen M. (posted on April 22, 2003)

April 22, 2003
I can't really be of much help to you, but if you will go to www.google.com and do a search for "adult pulmonary stenosis," there is a lot of information out there. Maybe you can find something there to help answer some of your questions. Good luck.
   — Lynne S.

April 24, 2003
I have aortic stenosis. I had a heart cath done last summer at the time he said it would need to be replaced at some point in my life but not soon. I had to get a cardiac clearance from him before scheduling the surgery. He felt everything would be fine. I'm scheduled for surgery on Monday!
   — Linda C.