Feedback on Surgeon's Northern California for Mitral Valve Repair

[concernedmom]

Would like to hear people's feedback on best surgeons for mitral valve repair/mitral valve prolapse with severe regurgitation, in northern California. My son is scheduled with a Dr. in Redwood City for surgery in 2 weeks.
Thanks for your help. Also issues with insurance coverage?

 

[Lynlw]

How old is your son? Are you looking for an adult heart surgeon or a pediatric one? Lyn www.caringbridge.org/nj/justinw

 

[concernedmom]

Thanks for the reply.

Thanks for the reply.

No info for you on NoCal surgeons but when I saw where you were - used to spend a lot of summer weekends when I was little at Seacliff! Is the concrete ship still out there? I can remember being able to walk all the way out to almost the end. Someone had told me that you couldn't go on it anymore.

I love Aptos!

We love it here. The cement boat is still here but has been battered by some storms so people are not allowed to go on it. The beach there is lovely for walks. Were you raised near here?

 

[concernedmom]

Thanks for reply.

Thanks for reply.

How old is your son? Are you looking for an adult heart surgeon or a pediatric one? Lyn www.caringbridge.org/nj/justinw

My son is 31, so we are looking for adult surgeon, though really looking for feedback on names we already have, and other recommendations too. So far we have Dr. Flachsbart at Kaiser, SF; and Dr. Gaudiani at Sequioa, Redwood City.

 

[Christina L]

I was originally

I was originally

considering Dr. Gaudiani to do my mitral valve repair in November of 2003. However, my cardiologist here in Colorado was really pushing Cleveland.

I came across Dr. Gaudiani's name from a personal web site of a former patient of Dr. Gaudiani's. I corresponded with this gentleman and eventually ended up talking with Dr. Gaudiani on the phone. He is a very confident surgeon and should be - I hear he is one of the best mitral valve surgeons in the country.

HOWEVER, that said, I ended up going to Cleveland and having the "supposed" #1 mitral valve surgeon (this is such a subjective opinion) in the world operate on my mitral valve. I am 1-1/2 years out and my cardiologist says he can still hear no murmur whatsoever and there is no leak from my valve on echos.

Shopping around for a surgeon is good, but as you will find out on this board, there are many, many, many fantastic, gifted surgeons. You have to make a choice and go with it.

Mostly the reason my cardiologist wanted me to go to Cleveland was the whole package - they are a frontrunner in cardiac surgeries and nothing they see surprises them - they have an unbelievable success rate and I guess a very, very low mortality rate for surgeries.

Both of my mitral valve leaflets were prolapsed and per my cardiologist, it was going to take a very skilled surgeon to do a successful repair. Dr. Gaudiani couldn't guarantee a repair, but said he "probably could" repair it - Dr. Cosgrove said "absolutely yes I can repair your valve." Of course you don't know until you get in there what is going to take place - repair or replacement - but I was very lucky.

Best wishes to your son for a very successful surgery.

Christina L.

 

[concernedmom]

Thanks for info.

Thanks for info.

considering Dr. Gaudiani to do my mitral valve repair in November of 2003. However, my cardiologist here in Colorado was really pushing Cleveland.

I came across Dr. Gaudiani's name from a personal web site of a former patient of Dr. Gaudiani's. I corresponded with this gentleman and eventually ended up talking with Dr. Gaudiani on the phone. He is a very confident surgeon and should be - I hear he is one of the best mitral valve surgeons in the country.

HOWEVER, that said, I ended up going to Cleveland and having the "supposed" #1 mitral valve surgeon (this is such a subjective opinion) in the world operate on my mitral valve. I am 1-1/2 years out and my cardiologist says he can still hear no murmur whatsoever and there is no leak from my valve on echos.

Shopping around for a surgeon is good, but as you will find out on this board, there are many, many, many fantastic, gifted surgeons. You have to make a choice and go with it.

Mostly the reason my cardiologist wanted me to go to Cleveland was the whole package - they are a frontrunner in cardiac surgeries and nothing they see surprises them - they have an unbelievable success rate and I guess a very, very low mortality rate for surgeries.

Both of my mitral valve leaflets were prolapsed and per my cardiologist, it was going to take a very skilled surgeon to do a successful repair. Dr. Gaudiani couldn't guarantee a repair, but said he "probably could" repair it - Dr. Cosgrove said "absolutely yes I can repair your valve." Of course you don't know until you get in there what is going to take place - repair or replacement - but I was very lucky.

Best wishes to your son for a very successful surgery.

Christina L.

Thanks Christina. It is really helping to know some people out there who have gone through this process. We have been given two very glowing recommendations for Dr. Gaudiani from cardiologists around here and then met with him with our son a couple of weeks ago. He said he was >95% sure he could repair the valve, he will be very surprised if he can't. That is his rate of repairs for prolapsed valves. My son is opting for a biological valve if they have to replace. He has severe regurgitation with some enlargement of left ventricle and significant enlargement of left atrium. Seems to be no question that the surgery needs to be done, with recent enlargement, but he is pretty much symptom free other than the heart beating pretty hard to keep up with body needs. No fibrillation, no shortness of breath, excercising regularly (swimming-keeping pulse <120) until recently at surgeon's suggestion. Do you have the name of former patient of Gaudiani's with web site?

 

[concernedmom]

I was raised in Humboldt County (Redway/Garberville area) until 10 or so and then in Sunnyvale (pretty close to Great America). We used to either spend weekends in Big Basin or Aptos/Seacliff. I still have scars on my feet from the redwood boardwalk/pier at Seacliff!

I remember when you could walk all the way out on the boat, to the bait shop. A little scary because you had to hop over this flooring between the pier and the boat that was just a rusted mesh panel!

Sounds neat. You have some pretty concrete memories of your experiences here (scars); I'm glad they are good memories though. We just went walking on the beach today at Seascape Beach with a 21 month old great niece-her second time on the beach (she was visiting with her parents from Ann Arbor, MI) What fun.

 

[The Bionic Duo]

Can't give you any surgeons in that area, but I do recall someone on this forum having surgery at Sequoia Hospital--the only reason I rememer this is I once upon a time worked there.

You all are bringing back memories for me--I grew up in Redwood City so I'm familiar with all the sites mentioned here--my Dad used to take us out to Big Basin all the time. Spent my birthday out at Half Moon Bay and it was a gorgeous day. My youngest son live out your way in Lompo Pico (I think that's the way to spell it) and he works in Scotts Valley.

Hope you find a good surgeon--have you considered going to Stanford University--I know they have a fairly good cardiac unit there, although I don't know who is currently practicing there.

Joan

 

[Christina L]

Your son's

Your son's

condition sounds a lot like mine. I also, thankfully, do not have a-fib at this time or even before my surgery. They just tested me every four months and watched my heart measurements. I had some shortness of breath - really I had gotten used to feeling the way I did and had compensated for my faulty valve rather well.

I'm sorry, but I sure don't remember the web site address for that particular gentleman who had surgery by Dr. Gaudiani.

I know he was an older man - in his 60s and was still having some problems - but nothing to do with Dr. Gaudiani's skills. This gentleman was rather upset that they didn't do a MAZE procedure on him, as he had a-fib before the surgery and couldn't quite understand why the MAZE was not done. That is too bad. I hope he is doing better.

That is great that Dr. Gaudiani is 95% sure he can repair your son's valve. You can't ask for better than that. I, also, on talking with Dr. G. agreed with him that I wanted a tissue valve instead of a mechanical. Dr. G. is one surgeon who doesn't like Coumadin. However, my cardiologist just could not understand why I wanted a tissue valve - I could tell it really bothered him that I would opt for a tissue valve if it came to that. That is the first thing I remember my significant other, Wayne, saying to me when I was waking up in the ICU - "they repaired your valve."

Christina L.

 

[Paul_R]

Heart Surgeon

Heart Surgeon

Frank Hanley at Stanford University Medical Center is suppose to be one of the finest heart surgeons in the country. I don't have personal experience with him, but I have read good things about him.

I hope this helps and good luck to your son.

 

[concernedmom]

condition sounds a lot like mine. I also, thankfully, do not have a-fib at this time or even before my surgery. They just tested me every four months and watched my heart measurements. I had some shortness of breath - really I had gotten used to feeling the way I did and had compensated for my faulty valve rather well.

I'm sorry, but I sure don't remember the web site address for that particular gentleman who had surgery by Dr. Gaudiani.

I know he was an older man - in his 60s and was still having some problems - but nothing to do with Dr. Gaudiani's skills. This gentleman was rather upset that they didn't do a MAZE procedure on him, as he had a-fib before the surgery and couldn't quite understand why the MAZE was not done. That is too bad. I hope he is doing better.

That is great that Dr. Gaudiani is 95% sure he can repair your son's valve. You can't ask for better than that. I, also, on talking with Dr. G. agreed with him that I wanted a tissue valve instead of a mechanical. Dr. G. is one surgeon who doesn't like Coumadin. However, my cardiologist just could not understand why I wanted a tissue valve - I could tell it really bothered him that I would opt for a tissue valve if it came to that. That is the first thing I remember my significant other, Wayne, saying to me when I was waking up in the ICU - "they repaired your valve."

Christina L.

Christina,
Can you tell me in more detail how your surgery and recovery went, did they use minimallly invasive approach? How are you now? How active? How long was your recovery? Any details would be helpful.
Thanks,
Deborah

 

[Christina L]

Yes, I had

Yes, I had

minimally invasive surgery as that is what Dr. Cosgrove specializes in and does it well. My scar is only 3-4 inches long. I can still wear relatively low tops, but sometimes my scar will peek through and boy, do people's eyes pop out when they catch a glimpse of my scar. They have this horrified look on their faces.

My surgery went okay, I think. I know from reading the operative report that Dr. Cosgrove scraped away a lot of "scar tissue" from my valve area. I suppose this was from my floppy valves scraping the heart wall. They put a Cosgrove ring around my mitral annulus to tighten the area up, after a lifetime of distention from the blood regurgitation. As I said before, both my posterior and anterior leaflets were floppy. There were no broken chordae on my valve. The operative report also said that Dr. Cosgrove removed a lot of redundant tissue from one of my valve leaflets. My valve was a mess, but not as messy as it could have been, I guess. My mitral valve problems are congenital.

Recovery was interesting. I have selective memory for a lot of things. People on this board talk about post traumatic stress and really I believe a lot of heart patients have PTSD. It is quite the experience to go through. You feel so fragile and vulnerable afterwards. I don't know how young your son is, but if he is young, he will probably do okay and you will have to MAKE him take it easy and slow down and not do too much at first post surgery. That is crucial. You don't want him compromising his sternum or his repair.

It takes time to heal. Many people on this board told me it would take at least a year before I would feel really good and they were right! I had an issue with atrial fibrillation two weeks after my surgery for which I was cardioverted. I have not had a-fib since (knock on wood). This is very common post surgery, so you might want to be prepared for it. It is just that the heart is "righting" itself. Wayne, my husband, had to give me Lovenox shots in my stomach for several weeks because of the bout of a-fib to prevent a potential blood clot.

I babied myself much more than most, I think. Walking is crucial but please don't let your son overdo it. Slow and easy is the best way during his recovery. Also eating lots of lean protein is vital - to repair the tissues and of course, lots of water and fluids.

The pain was not unbearable but not pleasant. If I remember right, after about a month, I was rarely taking a pain med. My mind was definitely not as clear after the surgery - still isn't, but I try to blame my memory problems on the surgery and not getting older.

I feel very good right now (again knock on wood) and my echoes and exams are all very reassuring. There are some days, I almost totally forget that I have had heart surgery. My exercise tolerance (I walk/run a little on a treadmill) is amazing now.

If you have any more questions, please PM me. I can tell you are very worried about your son, but he is going to be just fine.

P.S. If your son has his surgery done by Dr. Gaudiani, I am sure the hospital he will be in (Sequoia) will be so much quieter and he will have a lot more personal care. The nurses and entire staff (including cleaning people) at Cleveland were gems but they were overworked and a patient at Cleveland is one of hundreds - the older Hispanic man who wheeled me into surgery kissed me on the cheek and said, "God bless you." Even the cleaning ladies said that to me. It made me feel really cared for. However, it was a huge hospital and very, very noisy on the ward - I was put into a private room finally where I could get some sleep and my recovery sped up from that point on.

THAT (sleep) is crucial for your son after his surgery, so please try to get him a private room and tell the staff that he doesn't want to be bothered at all hours of the night. They will have him on many monitors, so he will be watched over carefully.

Okay, enough windiness from me, but hope this helped!

Christina L.

 

[Gail in Ca]

The Best Surgeon

The Best Surgeon

Well, according to me, my cardiologist and my sister's friend in LA who is a cardiologist, my surgeon, Dr. Miller, at Stanford Hospital is the BEST!
He said if my moderately leaking mitral valve needs addressing , he will go in thru the ribs to replace it. He also does repairs and is extensively published.
Please check him out.
Gail

 

[Big-Chuck]

surgeons in No. Calif.

surgeons in No. Calif.

add Dr. Burden and Dr. Fann to that list, they are both from Stanford and are excellent.

 

[Marty]

Sometimes the "best" surgeon is in your own backyard. That was my experience. Cleveland is great and my internist wanted me to go there but I had two friends who had complications after surgery there(both now fine) but this led to problems. One fellow's wife (from Chicago ) had to stay away from home in a not so nice hotel for three weeks. His kids who were scattered all over the country were there post op and then went home and were all called back. My other friend from Idaho post op was being escorted to the airport in Cleveland by his daughter, a doctor, when he went into afib. They turned around and went back to the hospital where he had to stay for two more weeks.After talking to my friends I decided to have my operation at a hospital 10 miles from my house with good parking for visitors. It turned out my valve was a mess, flail with ruptured chordae. My surgeon who wrote an early book on valve prostheses and who residented with DeBakey and Starr said if he had repaired my valve it would have failed and needed reop in two or three years. Even though I was 72 when I had the operation I am happy he replaced with a St. Jude mechanical. I have been lucky with the Coumadin and it has been no problem to manage with the help of a Coaguchek. I told the surgeon to make the choice between tissue and mechanical.

 

[Diane]

Frank Hanley at Stanford University Medical Center is suppose to be one of the finest heart surgeons in the country. I don't have personal experience with him, but I have read good things about him.

I do have personal experience with Dr. Hanley.....he did my pulmonary valve replacement in February. He is a pediatric surgeon, but since I have TOF, I needed a pediatric surgeon even though I was 47 years old. He is very good and as Paul said, he does have a reputation of being one the the best cardiac surgeons in the country.

Best wishes on your son's surgery.
Diane

 

[concernedmom]

Thank you all for your information and support-surgery September 15th

Thank you all for your information and support-surgery September 15th

Thank you all for your information and support- My son's surgery is scheduled for September 15th i.e. next week. He chose to go with Dr. Gaudiani of Sequoia Hospital, Redwood City. We are very hopeful for a great outcome and right now we are just moving forward. It is nice to know you are all out there offering support, prayers, love. Thanks for doing this work and please wish him luck.
Concerned Mom