Cleveland or Mayo or Northwestern?

[puckparent]

I have severe aortic stenosis and my cardiologist and I decided that I should go ahead and have my aortic valve replacement surgery in the fall since I will need it within a year. I have only gotten a little worse in 6 months (4.2 in Dec and 4.3 now) and, while I have shortness of breath at times, I did great on the stress test and my symptoms haven't gotten worse. I am looking at end of October or beginning of November. I know that when my son was operated in April at Northwestern he was in a private room in the ICU as well as on the step-down floor. My daughter-in-law was allowed to sleep in the chair in the ICU and I would really like my husband to be able to stay with me in the ICU.

For those who have had their surgery at Cleveland or Mayo, what is the ICU like? Are there private rooms or just curtains separating the beds and could your family member stay with you 24/7? Also, are the rooms private on the step-down floor.

I have an appointment with Dr. Malaisrie next month. McCarthy did my son's surgery but he told us that he doesn't open or close anymore. That bothers me. My cardiologist recommended I see Dr. Malaisrie instead. I read that some have had him perform their surgery. Would you recommend him? I was just concerned since he is so young.

Also, I am hoping for minimally invasive surgery so I won't have a huge scar. My cardiologist feels that is not out of the question. Any recommendations of surgeons at Cleveland or Mayo? My doctor is going to get back to me next week with his recommendations for those facilities and then I will decide and have him set up appointments.

Thanks.

 

[mainframe]

I would make my pick of place to have surgery based on the experience of the surgeon first, the care of the hospital second. Whether or not my room was private wouild be way down the list. My first surgery was at a hospital where both the ICU and step down units were private. My second surgery neither were private and honestly it didn't bother me much the 5 weeks I was ICU or 10 days in step down. I did get a private room during my 3 week rehab hospital stay though, that was nice.

 

[texasmike]

All three facilities are excellent. I had a re-op April 2010 at Mayo, and was very impressed by the facility, the ICU, the nursing care and the surgical team.
Mayo provides an individual ICU with an ICU nurse sitting next to you the entire time you are in there. Then, I was released to the floor into a nice private room.
After my experience there I wouldn't go any place else, but I believe you will hear the same endorsement from others re Northwestern and Cleveland.
My surgeon was Dr. Hartzell Schaff. He is excellent, as was the entire team. Remember, the team is every bit as important as the surgeon, particularly the anesthesiologist.
The advantage of minimally invasive is they don't have to crack you open. The scar is a non-issue. In fact, they improved on my initial scarring and now, one year later, I have to point the scar out for someone to see it.
Best of luck to you!

 

[kfay]

I had my surgery at Mayo. My husband was allowed to stay with me anytime he wanted while I was in ICU. He was there all night the first night, leaving in the morning to grab a nap and a shower. Once I was moved to step down, they brought him a cot and he stayed with me every night. Both the ICU and step down were private rooms, that was important to me.

I can't give you a surgeon recommendation for there since my surgeon does mostly congenital cases, but if you do a search on here for mayo and surgeons, (or any of the hospitals you are looking at), you'll see who others have used.

Good luck to you.l

 

[epstns]

I would not rule out McCarthy "just" because he no longer opens/closes. He did my valve and bypass, but the team opened/closed. At 4.5 months it is evident that the residual scar will be hard to see. They used surgical super-glue instead of staples or sutures, which minimizes scarring.

 

[scott.eitman]

I recommend getting into a Cardiologist at any of the named clincs. Then, let them recommend the right surgeon for the work needed. Assuming they are all learning hospitals, my assumption is that none of the surgeons open or close.

 

[ElectLive]

My impression is also that most of the name surgeons don't open or close, it's team based.

 

[Robyn10217]

My surgery was at mayo they were fantastic.. yes rooms are private.. even after they bring you down from ICU they brought my husband a bed to sleep on in my room.. nurses are really friendly in all deparments, I am having my next surgery there too ... surgeons are great, cardiologist drive me nuts... lol surprising I know... if you need some names of a couple great surgeons let me know..