My Mitral Valve is probably ready for surgery

[Harmony]

4 years ago I came on here knowing very little about Mitral Valve except I had to premedicate before dental visits. At that time I had a tee which showed a PFO. I had moderately severe regurg. It is now severe regurg and also irregular heart beat. My Cardio says the beats are from the upper heart so they are not as severe as from the lower heart. I am not all sure this is correct. I always had palps but dont have them any more. I am having a angiogram next week. I am seeking a surgeon in the New York City Area. I had seen Dr. Colvin 4 years ago and Dr. Adams 3 years ago. Both wanted to operate on me. At that time it did not seem urgent. So if anyone had MVR surgery in NYC could you pleas give me the name of the doctor. I have to start interviewing as soon as possible. I hope my letter does not sound too jumbled I thought this day would never come

 

[Jkm7]

I'm sorry I can't help you with surgeon names as I had both my OHS in Boston at Mass General.

I only want to say I understand your saying you thought this day would never come. I, also, felt that way but when my mitral valve went really bad, it did so quickly. When my cardio told me I had to speak again with my surgeon, my stomach fell. But, I took it one step at a time and did what I had to do. The people on this site were so supportive and helpful I don't know how I would have gotten through it without all I learned here/all the help I got. (That and my wonderful cardio.) I had MVR in February and am doing well.

I'm sure others will be along soon to help with surgeon suggestions.

 

[Nupur]

Hi Harmony,

Do you know if you are a good candidate for repair? From everything that I have read, repair is always the first choice. Do you have details on what exact type of prolapse it is ( posterior, anterior, bi-leaflet, chordae rupture )? In my case, after a TEE the doctor said that repair will be unlikely as I have anterior leaflet prolapse.

I have read David Adams' website (http://www.mitralvalverepair.org/) and found it very informative. He seems to be a big proponent of repair. I would certainly consider him if I lived on the East Coast.

Good luck with everything.

Nupur

 

[skeptic49]

Harmony, sending best wishes you way for your upcoming surgery. You're not alone since many of us will be travelling the same road.

Take care,

Jim

 

[hensylee]

nice to see you again. I remember you. I believe Evelyn's husband might've had his done in NYC and there must be other members. ILoveNY is a New Yorker but she doesn't stop in anymore. As the day progresses you will probably hear from some more.

Best wishes.

 

[Adrienne]

There is another member who just said she was going with Dr. Adams. She is the one that mentioned the website address.

 

[Harmony]

Nupur My Cardio says I am a good candidate ffor repair surgery. My last echo taken on 9/5/08 Marked prolapse mild flail of th p1 segment of the posterior mitral leaflet is noted along with moderate posterior posterior annulus calcific deposition. The remarkable heart valves appear un remarkable. IF I had not taken my blood pressure on Friday I would never have seen the flashing heart on the monitor which indicates irregular heart beat. I ddont understand how I can have a irregular heart beat and no palps or any other syptoms. I am going on Friday for the Angiogram. My Cardio tells me I have nothing to worry about but gets me a very fast apointment. I saw Dr. Adams 3 years ago. He was anxious to operate on him. My Cardio is not crazy about him. I always thought
Dr. Colvin would operate on me but he has passed on. I am very nervous. So if any of you can think of a surgeon in NYC please tell me

 

[offwego]

I had my repair about 5 years ago by Dr. Colvin. Unfortunately he passed away this year. His partner is Dr Galloway and he is head of thorasic surgery at NYU. The waiting time to see him is not bad at all. He is very well mannered, listens carefully and is extremely experienced in mitral valve repair.

 

[Nupur]

Harmony, I don't know of any surgeons in NYC since I live on the West Coast. I have read David Adams' website and found it very useful. But whoever you choose, your prolapse indeed has excellent chance of repair from what I have read. Mine, in contrast, is in A3, which is hard to repair. Wish you all the best.

Nupur

 

[Harmony]

I had my Anogram At Lenox Hill Hospital yesterday. It was done by a doctor Iyer who is head of the Ambulatory Cardiac Catheterization unit. He felt every thing went well. I still feel awful from it. One of my arteries is 40% clogged? The others are clean. He said my Mitral Valve leaks severly. So I guess it is time to get it fixed. My Cardio is at Lenox Hill but does not wild about any of the Thorasic surgeons there. I know some one who was operated on by Dr. Galloway and was happy with theere surgery. There are a few surgeons I have heard are good Dr. Stelzer of MT Sinai, Dr Krieger of NY Weil Cornell, and a couple of others that escape my mind right now. Dr Iyer told me a 40% clog means nothing but I dont know. Its hard for me to understand this sometimes. I have severe Regurg but no shortness of breath. The irregular heart beats i had 2 weeks ago are gone. I am very scared to say the least. . Thank you for listening

 

[zipper2]

Hi Harmony,
I had my cath couple weeks ago to and glad it's over!
Just waiting now for mvr this month....no date yet for me.
The waiting is sooooo difficult,my first surgery was 16 years
ago on the mvr and scared is normal been there ,done that
and still scared ........so were in this altogether,be sure you
ask any questions and i'm sure eventually they get answered.
Weekends tend to drag abit,but then everyones back answering
your questions. Just wanted to say hi and that your not alone.
all i can say is we both will feel so much better when we get the
surgery and are fixed up,then we get to brag about how good we feel
Sorry Harmony it should read 16 years ago on the avr,above
not the mvr thats comming up for me now soon.

zipper2 (DEB)

 

[Jkm7]

Harmony,

Of course you are scared. WE all are when facing OHS.
I had mitral valve replacement end of February with the same surgeon (Mass General) who did my first OHS four years ago. Didn't matter it was my second and had a fair idea what to expect, I was still scared.

The waiting really is the worst part of the whole thing.

I chose to have a tissue valve and that was the right choice for me. Each of us has to make the choice individually with our doctors.

I had no unexpected nasty surprises or events following my surgery and an uneventful recovery from both of my heart surgeries and wish the same for you.

While for us this is life altering, for the surgeons, nurses and staff at these major heart centers it is all in a day's work and that is just the way we want it. I want all my caregivers in this sort of situation to be so skilled and experienced that they've 'seen it all' and dealt with it before.

 

[Dawn-Marie]

Hi Harmony ~ I know nothing about doctors in your area. I just wanted to say that i hope you find an excellent surgeon soon and extend my best wishes to you in having a successful surgery when the time comes.

It's so normal to be scared. I've been waiting since last November to find some solution to have my bicuspid aortic valve replaced and, so far, there has been none. I'm scared because of the opposite reason. I would be on the operating table in 5 minutes flat if i could be, as i'd jump at the chance to have my valve fixed and live a longer life.

Best wishes,

Dawn-Marie