I need advice about surgeon decision.

[Innercalm]

My name is innercalm aka Susan (anxious Mom)
I have put my toes in the web site water but now that I know the water is warm, I am ready to jump in all the way.
My 35 year old son has a complicated mitral valve regurg. which involves the anterior and posterior leaflets. We found out in March 2005 and have been consulting and testing for eight months. We were told that he needs to go out of the state of Arizona where we live. He is being watched and evaluated at Mayo Clinic Scottsdale. We are going to see Dr. Vincent Gaudiani in Redwood City, California on 12/26 since he has been recommended as a mitral valve expert. We also have Cleveland clinic in the running and we want to know what is thought of Mayo in Rochester, Minnesota? I think we have intelligently whittled the decision down and now it would be fabulous to get corroboration from you experts. James has no symptoms escept maybe a tia to his left eye which is what started the investigation last March. Thank you for any advice and suggestions anyone can give us. Susan (innercalm)

 

[Christian]

All I can offer is our experience. My wife had very severe mitral regurgitation caused by defects of both leaflets. Dr. Cosgrove at the Cleveland Clinic performed a chordal transfer (three chords from the rear of the anterior leaflet were transferred to its cusp) to fix her near-flail anterior leaflet and then sewed up a cleft (a congenital defect) in her posterior leaflet. They then sewed in an annuloplasty ring. He did this in about 42 minutes through a two-and-one-quarter-inch incision, and she's had no complications at all. She's basically fully recovered after just 33 days and, as far as we know, she now has a "normal" heart. If you put her in a room with 20 people, she'd be the last you'd guess had heart surgery last month.

It's obviously way too early to declare victory, but we're really pleased with what we got, which has been (so far) a complete realization of our best case scenario.

If I had to have heart surgery for any reason, I'd go back to Cleveland without a second thought. I'm a notorious perfectionist, and am prone to find fault just about everywhere. I found none at the Cleveland Clinic.

 

[Kate]

I'd second what Christian said - I had valve surgery at the Cleveland Clinic in September and was very please with both the medical and human care I received. Kate

 

[Natanni]

Hello!!

Hello!!

My husband Nathan is 34 and had his aortic valve replaced at the Mayo in Rochster MN 9+ weeks ago. He was seen prior to this at the University of MN and had a few complications after a procedure there, and we followed up at the Mayo. Nathan was hoping originally for a repair, but was found to have a bicuspid valve prior as well as endocarditis, so he had to make a choice between bovine (the surgeon preference to porcine) and mechanical. Homograft was not an option due to Nathan's anatomy.

Like Christain said, it is a little early for us to give you a final answer (first post operative echo Dec 12), but thus far both Nathan and myself have been very happy with his care. Being a nurse, I was very impressed with the post operative care Nathan received, as well as follow up care. I had concerns as far as living 4 hours away and what would happen if complications occured. Nathan did end up in ER twice with atrial fib, and it was one easy phone call to verify treatment with someone who was in charge of Nathan's care at the Mayo at some point.

Good luck in your search and best wishes to your son!!

 

[ALCapshaw2]

Welcome Susan -

It sounds like you have done your research and are well prepared. Cleveland Clinic is rated as the #1 Heart Hospital in the U.S. and Mayo Clinic is rated #2 so you should be in good hands. Just be sure the surgeon you select has lots of experience with the type of problem you son exhibits.

Now that you've found us, you may want to spend some time browsing through the Pre-Surgery and Post-Surgery Forums. They contain LOTS of advice on what to do to prepare for surgery, what to take to the hospital, and what is to be expected in the first several weeks of recovery. You may also find some items of interest in the Reference Forum.

Stick around, and feel free to ask any questions that come to mind as you prepare to 'climb the mountain'.

Best wishes,

'AL Capshaw'

 

[Christina L]

I would have to put in a vote

I would have to put in a vote

for Dr. Cosgrove in Cleveland. I also checked into Gaudiani, but my cardio here in Colorado pretty much insisted on Cleveland even though it was ultimately my decision. My mitral valve, also, had both anterior and posterior leaflets prolapsed and redundant.

I am very thankful I took my cardio's advice.

It is not just the surgeon it is the whole facility - Cleveland has seen it all - done it all - they run like a well-oiled machine. It is a big and noisy, crazy place, BUT nothing surprises them so if anything were to go wrong, they have seen it before and know exactly what to do.

Good luck with your decision - you will make the right choice for you.

Christina L

 

[parker04]

I also live in Az

I also live in Az

and I was in Cleveland 3 years ago for my surgery.Its a great hospital and definately recommend you go there. I have aortic valve issues, Dr. Bruce Lytle was my surgeon. If you go on the website for the Cleveland Clinic you can view each surgeons profile.