My name is Dan Enich. I am a 41 year old Middle School Assistant Principal from Weirton, WV. I have been a Head Football Coach and a Head Baseball Coach at the High School level before finishing my education for my Administration position. I am married to Lisa. I am truly fortunate to have her by my side through these extremely trying times. I was diagnosed with this TAA by accident and my surgeon feels very confident that my proactive desire is also the approach he recommends. I live approximately 40 minutes from Downtown Pittsburgh, PA and I am being treated at West Penn Hospital that has a great reputation for Cardiac Care. Thanks for your Website, it has truly helped me in the last few days since I have found the site.
Hi, my name is Dan. I am a 41 year old male that has recently been diagnosed with an aortic aneurysm. The doctors that I have seen have advised me that I should repair this sooner than later. I plan to have this done within the next few weeks. The date of this writing is 4-16-03.
This website has been a wealth of information for a problem that is very deceptive in nature. My diagnosis was found through a chest x-ray on an unrelated and non-serious problem. My mother passed away in 1980 at the age of 49 from a heart attack. At that time, my doctor explained, heart attack deaths were not fully analyzed and explored. She undoubtedly suffered from this problem and it went undetected.
My TAA is 5.5 in size and I have no other heart related problems or symptoms. All valves seem to be in working order with a slight bit of leakage at the aortic valve. My doctor feels that with my age and health level that the present would be the best time to fix this under controlled conditions.
I would like to hear anybody's opinion on these facts, if possible. I also lead a fairly active life with jogging, exercise, and I work as a Middle School Principal. My thoughts are to be pro-active in this surgery and the subsequent rehabilitation. How will this surgery effect the above life-style.
Thank you in advance if I get any input via EMail. I will also keep this website updated. The positive effects of this website are greatly appreciated.
Update: 18 May 2003
On May 8, 2003 I had surgery to remove the ascending TAA. My surgery started promptly at 7:30AM and lasted approximately 5 hours. The surgeon removed the 5.5 CM TAA from the root position and worked at saving the valve. The valve was too damaged and he decided the best avenue would be to replace it with a pre-determined tissue valve (29 MM). The surgeon replaced approximately one to one and a half inches of Aortic tissue and replaced that with a dacron graft. He explained later that the graft was well before the cranial arteries and Circulation arrest was not required. I stayed in the ICU for approximately 24 hours and was released to the "Step-Down Unit". My stay in Step Down was extremely uneventful and I was released from the hospital approximately 4 days and 6 hours after I entered.
Upon returning home, I was very tired the first day and took a 3-hour nap after climbing one flight of stairs. Since then, I have been steadily and progressively getting stronger. My wife is working with me through this whole ordeal and she is the main reason I am progressing so well. It is now 8 days since my surgery and I ventured out for the first time. My wife took me to look for a recliner. we found one and it is the most important piece of furniture I have ever bought. Please be sure to have one in your recovery phase. I will keep this website updated in the near future. I am scheduled to see my cardiologist in 2-3 weeks and my surgeon again in 4-6 weeks. My surgeon is Dr. David Haybron from the Western Pennsylvania Hospital. My opinion is that if you have this problem and are in the Pittsburgh area, you would be hard pressed to find another specialist like him. He was great and so far so good.