Mitral Valve RE-repair EXPERT in the US

[Franz]

Hi there,

I've just found that site and I'm very glad to join you my fellow heart sufferers. I'm currently shopping for the best surgeon to RE-repair my MV. I live in California, but haven't had much luck here, so I also consider the Cleveland Clinic as the ultimate source. I know that Dr Cosgrove is the icon there and he would be the best, but I heard he doesn't operate anymore? My research also leads me to Dr Gillinov, as he claims that he currently does more valve repair than anybody in the US. Is he the one, or there is even a better option outthere? I'd welcome any suggestions... Great Thanks!!!

 

[Adrienne]

Although I live in Montreal (Canada), I correspond with a friend of a friend that had a minimally invasive (thoracotomy) mitral valve repair by Dr. William Ryan who operates in Dallas and in Plano, Texas. In addition to this friend of a friend, there are a few people who have had MV repairs by him on this site (they seem to have all been minimally invasive. One of the people on this site is MaryC, another is her sister, KatieD (I think that's her screen name - I didn't look it up). From everything I read, he seems to be a totally super surgeon!

 

[Curtsmum]

Can't help with your question but wanted to wish you luck finding a surgeon. Welcome to the forum and best of luck with surgery.

 

[WayneGM]

I'm from Canada so can't really help you. I had Dr. Tirone David in Toronto who is one the world's pioneers of valve sparing procedures. He does do some foreign surgeries but I'm not sure how you go about arranging it. Best wishes and good luck.

 

[MaryC]

Although I live in Montreal (Canada), I correspond with a friend of a friend that had a minimally invasive (thoracotomy) mitral valve repair by Dr. William Ryan who operates in Dallas and in Plano, Texas. In addition to this friend of a friend, there are a few people who have had MV repairs by him on this site (they seem to have all been minimally invasive. One of the people on this site is MaryC, another is her sister, KatieD (I think that's her screen name - I didn't look it up). From everything I read, he seems to be a totally super surgeon!

Dr William Ryan out of the Dallas area did my sister's and my MV repairs. We both had minimally invasive procedures via port access. Our repairs were first repairs, but I have heard Dr Ryan does a lot of re-repairs. I had my surgery on a Wednesday morning and was home around noon the following Sunday. I can't say enough good things about Dr Ryan and his dedication to his patients. I saw him everyday I was in the hospital, including the Sunday when I was released.

PS I should mention my surgery was a little over a year ago and I am fully recovered, better than new in fact!

 

[ctyguy]

If your focused on the Cleveland Clinic please run a Google on Gosta Pettersson. He did my AVR but he does alot of re-repairs and complex surgeries (double lung transplants, heart transplants, as well as valve procedures).

 

[MikeHeim]

As you can already see, most people here are partial to their surgeon - and I am no exception. My Cardiologist told me that Dr. Laks was the best repair guy in SoCal, which is where I lived at the time. I had a complicated repair with both my anterior and posterior leaflets needing to be resectioned. I was told later that most surgeons wouldn't have even attempted a repair when they got in there and found out how bad things were. I'm doing quite well 2.5 years later and was just told yesterday by a new Cardiologist that he can't hear a hint of a leakage.

 

[Jeeb1]

Hi--Try Dr. Vincent Gaudiani in SF. He is great--since you are in Northern Ca. he is right there--does surgery at CPMC and in Redwood City.
Good luck

 

[jgibson]

Dr. Michael Petracek

Dr. Michael Petracek

Hi there,

I've just found that site and I'm very glad to join you my fellow heart sufferers. I'm currently shopping for the best surgeon to RE-repair my MV. I live in California, but haven't had much luck here, so I also consider the Cleveland Clinic as the ultimate source. I know that Dr Cosgrove is the icon there and he would be the best, but I heard he doesn't operate anymore? My research also leads me to Dr Gillinov, as he claims that he currently does more valve repair than anybody in the US. Is he the one, or there is even a better option outthere? I'd welcome any suggestions... Great Thanks!!!

I would check into Dr. Michael Petracek at Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville, TN. 615-343-9195.

It is common for people to come in from out of state. He is one of the doctors that started doing the Minimally Invasive method for the Mitral Valve. I believe his number of repairs is somewhere over a thousand. When I went in for my echo around 10 weeks after my repair, the tech there told me that if she didn't already know I had a repair done, then she would have not known. Basically the post op leakage/mitral regurge is extremely low.

Hope this helps.

 

[Franz]

I would like to thanks everybody for the input and valuable suggestions. To Jeeb1 I'd like to say that I saw Gaudiani in SF but in my opinion he isn't the best for complicated MV repairs. He reminds me about a guy who has operated on me before. He has a lot of practice and experience, but in some areas may not be as current. He has a lot of experience however and would be great for the valve replacement and other stuff. Some surgeons pretend to be " a jack of all trades" but unfortunately it's not 100% true. They are trained to do everything, but eventually they become experts in what they do most often. It's a good idea to find out what is their area of expertise before the procedure, which is based on their skill and the volume of particular procedures they've done. To MikeHeim I'd like to say that you're lucky SOTG and I envy you big time. Dr Laks seem to be one of the best in SoCal and I may take my chances with him myself.
Thanks for other leads to everybody and I'll let you know my decisions once I make them. Should somebody else have anything to suggest, I'd welcome it very much. BTW surprisingly only one person (ctyguy) has mentioned Clevland Clinic on this thread. Interesting!

 

[Jkm7]

Seeing as you are in California, I didn't mention my excellent surgeon from Mass General. Massachusetts General Hospital is always among the top five heart centers in the various surveys as is Cleveland Clinic but I wouldn't imagine there is need for you to go from left to right coast to get a fabulous surgeon. Thankfullly, there are lots in between.

Dr. Alan Hilgenberg performed two OHS on me and I would have no one but him. In a perfect world, most of us would consider our surgeon to be the very best surgeon for what we needed done! That is why we chose him or her.

Sending the very best wishes to you in your search and eventual surgery.
Good luck.

 

[dong]

My husband had my mitral valve repaired by Dr Laks last month. We travel 130miles one way to UCLA. With traffic, sometimes it took more than 3 hours one way. But it really worth it. Dr Laks did a wonderful job. Our cardiologist said today the valve was repaired perfect after he saw the ECHO. The care we got at UCLA was great too. Dr Laks came to see my husband every weekday. I would like to special thank MikeHeim, he posted a lot of info here that make us to see DR Laks. After we met Dr Laks at surgery consultation, we decided immediately that this would be our surgeon.

 

[Lionheart]

Franz,
I chose the Cleveland Clinic because it is ranked the best cardiac surgical hospital in the US I figure they want to keep that title and therefore keep the best surgeons. I know there are hospitals and surgeons just as good and maybe even better but it is difficult to for me the consumer to sort those out, so I went with what I thought was the best.

While he was not my doctor for my AVR, I met a few MV repair patients who thought highly of Dr Gillinov and they were all pleased. See his info here. They said he was a great surgeon and also a personable guy. One of the surgical Fellows on my surgical team traveled from Europe for a one year rotation at the CC for the specific reason to learn mitral valve repair from Gillinov. Apparently untreated strep has caused many in his country to require MV repair later in life and he said he wanted to learn MV repair from the best.

You are doing the right thing to question and take charge of your health care - Keep it up!
John

 

[dj/utvolsfan]

don't forget to count me in with my pm to you about CCF.
I forgot to mention Dr. P is the head of lung transplants at Cleveland. i forget what his official title is. My surgery was postponed one day due to an emergency lung transplant. I remember waking up in ICU beside a lung transplant patient and he sounded like he was coming off the golf course. So strong and confident.
if you do decide on ccf, dr. p has my vote.

 

[ALCapshaw2]

I checked with one of my contacts "in the biz" and

"Here are the recommendations from the Bay area:

Vincent A. Gaudiani in Redwood City 650 366 0255
Junaid H. Khan in Oakland 704 465 6600
Hon S. Lee with Kaiser in Santa Clara--did not find phone number but it is probably available

Dr. Mark Gillinov is the valve repair expert at Cleveland Clinic."
=========

From the previous comments, it sounds to me like Dr. Gillinov falls in the "Best of the Best" Group.

Hope you make a 'comfortable' selection.

'AL Capshaw'

 

[marky]

Dr. James Gammy from the university of Md.

He built a new valve for me from gortex... he said it was a one of a kind, but he was determined to repair my valve. It took him 3 tries till he was satisified. I would say he is well worth the look.
btw..I just had my 2 year ultra sound..and the doc reading it wanted to know where I had the repair Because he had never seen one done so nicely.