Questions I should ask?

[Ozmercy]

It appears that my appt. with the surgeon is next Mon. @ 2:00. It was Mon. then changed to Thurs. now back to Mon.! I was wondering what questions I should ask. I am sure part of the discussion will be what kind of valve. The cardiologist leaned towards biologic. I said porcine earlier, but on recollection I believe I assumed that. I think he just said that he recommended biologic not mechanical, because of my job (I shouldn't be on Coumadin) and the thing I mentioned earlier that he thinks by the time I need a new valve it will be much easier to replace (surgery by catheter). What other questions should I be prepared to ask? Any info I should bring with me other than my tests and my health history (I think he already has that from the cardiologist). Do you think I should be prepared that I might end up having surgery right away given my 5.3 meaurement? Thanks everyone for all the support this last week it has really helped me with my attitude.

Praying for Temp69 and Lisa Jeanne

 

[kimfusca]

Good question, what are the questions?

Good question, what are the questions?

That is a great question. One I would like to know also. I am meeting with the surgeon tomorrow, but I'd still like to know what things I might not have not have thought of are and/or the things I didn't know to ask. I think after my angiogram tomorrow, I will be setting a date...

 

[dj/utvolsfan]

I ended up tossing aside the list of questions I had for my surgeon --- he wasn't in the mood to answer any of them. My appt was at 8 in the morning and I didn't get in to see him until 4:00. I know he had to be dragging, but we got off on the wrong foot. I went in with a grateful attitude and didn't expect an apology however when he mentioned that he tried to see me at 3:00, (the beeper his staff had given me didn't go off,) he still appeared agitated with me... His hands were going to be holding my heart the following day so I found it quite easy to accept this turn around of who should be agitated with whom...wasn't important.
Anyway so many questions were answered with the pre-op video as well as the huge notebook of info Cleveland gave me...so I didn't bother him with those.
I went into the appointment well informed and knew what I was talking about...I did a ton of research beforehand....The most important questions I had for him were....
explanation of what all the surgery entailed.....
length of the surgery
success rate of this particular surgery...
chances of the membrane growing back....
how often did he do this particular surgery
risk level
repair vs replacement....how likely is it that a repair would lead to a replacement down the road.....told him my choice in replacement ..he became agitated again with me when I gave him my blessings and strong encouagement to replace if there was a seed of doubt that a repair would do the job for any length of time.
Most of the appt was spent with me watching him read my history. He had what appeared to be a 1000x magnification of my heart "live" which was fascinating to watch....must have kept it up there for my sister and my entertainment.
He gave me a quick 1 minute rundown of surgery and none of my other questions were attempted. I think most people have a more informative appt. Never saw the guy again but about 30 seconds in ICU...
Top dog in the lung and heart transplant department. Was told by numerous people he is ranked as America's #1 heart surgeon...but then I hear they all say that! Bottom line, I'm forever grateful to him.
Hope you appt goes well!
Debbi

 

[Georgia]

With that big ol' aneurysm, I wouldn't be surprised if surgery was moved up.

Be sure you have him spell out the pre-surgical physical limitations.

Other than that, I think you've been given good advice.

Wish I'd had the same prior to surgery.

 

[musician2k]

Yep. I'm told my surgeon is one of the best for my type of procedure but I won't even HAVE a pre-op meeting with him or any appointment whatsoever until the DAY BEFORE my surgery. That's just how they do it at the Heart Center.

I still will have a couple of questions for him, but mostly I have most of my answers already having read this board & researched otherwise. But I'm sure a few last minute things will come up

With that big ol' aneurysm, I wouldn't be surprised if surgery was moved up.

Be sure you have him spell out the pre-surgical physical limitations.

Other than that, I think you've been given good advice.

Wish I'd had the same prior to surgery.

 

[Ross]

I ended up tossing aside the list of questions I had for my surgeon --- he wasn't in the mood to answer any of them. My appt was at 8 in the morning and I didn't get in to see him until 4:00. I know he had to be dragging, but we got off on the wrong foot. I went in with a grateful attitude and didn't expect an apology however when he mentioned that he tried to see me at 3:00, (the beeper his staff had given me didn't go off,) he still appeared agitated with me... His hands were going to be holding my heart the following day so I found it quite easy to accept this turn around of who should be agitated with whom...wasn't important.
Anyway so many questions were answered with the pre-op video as well as the huge notebook of info Cleveland gave me...so I didn't bother him with those.
I went into the appointment well informed and knew what I was talking about...I did a ton of research beforehand....The most important questions I had for him were....
explanation of what all the surgery entailed.....
length of the surgery
success rate of this particular surgery...
chances of the membrane growing back....
how often did he do this particular surgery
risk level
repair vs replacement....how likely is it that a repair would lead to a replacement down the road.....told him my choice in replacement ..he became agitated again with me when I gave him my blessings and strong encouagement to replace if there was a seed of doubt that a repair would do the job for any length of time.
Most of the appt was spent with me watching him read my history. He had what appeared to be a 1000x magnification of my heart "live" which was fascinating to watch....must have kept it up there for my sister and my entertainment.
He gave me a quick 1 minute rundown of surgery and none of my other questions were attempted. I think most people have a more informative appt. Never saw the guy again but about 30 seconds in ICU...
Top dog in the lung and heart transplant department. Was told by numerous people he is ranked as America's #1 heart surgeon...but then I hear they all say that! Bottom line, I'm forever grateful to him.
Hope you appt goes well!
Debbi

Debbi that is unacceptable. I know you blew it off, but regardless, it's his job to discuss your concerns, not his. On my appointment day, my surgeon got stuck in emergency surgery. My appointment was at 3 and I did not see him until 7pm. He took his time with me, let me ask questions, reviewed my lab reports with me and everything. Yes his butt was dragging on the floor, but he none the less took the time. He had 3 patients to see after me!

 

[Paul117]

don't forget they are working for you

don't forget they are working for you

any time you have a concern or an issue...like will I live??? shout it out don't be shy they work for you not the other way around. I asked how many times had he done this (both the robot guy O'hair and Werner the second time)
I want to know the mortality percentage (the engineer in me) I wanted to see the robot the first time etc. let them drag their butts they also take the time off they need to get in shape for the OR too.
the wait you describe is unacceptable the staff should have helped you out more.
good luck going forward.