Just thought I'd drop in my experience with 2nd MD, which is part of the benefits offered by my husband's company (separate from medical insurance). It's a free benefit wherein you can submit your tests and care plan and they set up a 20 min video visit with an expert in that field to just give their professional opinion. Not really a classic consult because it's not really a case of going with that provider, it was more like if you happened to have a cardiothoracic surgeon in the family, what could you ask. It's a free benefit.
I had a good experience with this program. They matched me with a cardiothoracic surgeon at Cedar Sinai in new York City, which is a reference center for mitral valve surgery. It was reassuring to hear that he mostly agreed with my care plan for mechanical mitral valve replacement. He explained some things in a different way and gave me some things to think about. For example, he told me to moderate my expectations about the Maze procedure they want to do to treat the afib, because my left atrium is already so enlarged it's only effective 28% of the time. Still worth doing because it's short and they're already in there. He did a better job of explaining the LAA ligation procedure and advocated for using an Atri clip as very effective.
He also raised the possibility of a repair if I traveled to someone with LOTS of expertise in rheumatic mitral valve repair which kind of threw me for a loop, especially the surgeon I met with said "anyone how says they can repair this is lying to you." He said a bunch of technical stuff about how it could be possible though you wouldn't know till you were in there. I don't think I am really interested as I don't trust the repair to survive my rheumatic processes and I don't want another OHS, plus he said I'll need lifelong anticoagulation due to the Afib and the TIA regardless. He said a couple times that he'd probably just choose a replacement as he worked it through.
Also told me just how lucky I was to get 22 years out of the mitral balloon (only 3% of patients make it that far), described my cardiologist as "world class for what he does," confirmed the urgency of surgery ("with your numbers it might otherwise wait 3-6 months but the TIA makes everything more urgent") and told me I am so young and have "very patent" coronary vessels so I should have a good outcome.
Overall it was a well-run and helpful benefit and just wanted to document here.
I had a good experience with this program. They matched me with a cardiothoracic surgeon at Cedar Sinai in new York City, which is a reference center for mitral valve surgery. It was reassuring to hear that he mostly agreed with my care plan for mechanical mitral valve replacement. He explained some things in a different way and gave me some things to think about. For example, he told me to moderate my expectations about the Maze procedure they want to do to treat the afib, because my left atrium is already so enlarged it's only effective 28% of the time. Still worth doing because it's short and they're already in there. He did a better job of explaining the LAA ligation procedure and advocated for using an Atri clip as very effective.
He also raised the possibility of a repair if I traveled to someone with LOTS of expertise in rheumatic mitral valve repair which kind of threw me for a loop, especially the surgeon I met with said "anyone how says they can repair this is lying to you." He said a bunch of technical stuff about how it could be possible though you wouldn't know till you were in there. I don't think I am really interested as I don't trust the repair to survive my rheumatic processes and I don't want another OHS, plus he said I'll need lifelong anticoagulation due to the Afib and the TIA regardless. He said a couple times that he'd probably just choose a replacement as he worked it through.
Also told me just how lucky I was to get 22 years out of the mitral balloon (only 3% of patients make it that far), described my cardiologist as "world class for what he does," confirmed the urgency of surgery ("with your numbers it might otherwise wait 3-6 months but the TIA makes everything more urgent") and told me I am so young and have "very patent" coronary vessels so I should have a good outcome.
Overall it was a well-run and helpful benefit and just wanted to document here.
