Second thoughts ...St. Thomas?

[pipersmith]

I met with a surgeon a few weeks back, referred by my cardio. I liked him immediately, however, the details I know about him are few. Our hospital has a relativelly new Heart Center. I have heard only good things, many people have reported to me that the heart surgeons here could practice anywhere - they are really good.

Out of the blue on Friday, I received a mailer from St. Thomas Hospital - in Nashville (about an hour and a half). According to their commercial, they do an incredible number of heart surgeries annually. The mailer has an article about a new Heart Valve Center on the hospital campus. They tout the latest advances in aortic valve surgeries - in cluding minimally invasive procedures. Frankly, I had not considered travelling - it would be less convenient for my family.

I am curious - is anyone familiar with St. Thomas? What details would cause you to pick one venue over another? one surgeon over another - if they are both good?

I could just be second guessing myself - but interesting that this article made it's way to my lap right now, out of the blue. I am curious about your opinions...
Thanks..!

 

[Mary]

You should be aware of the number of valve procedures your surgeon has done, and how many have been performed at the hospital you are considering.
The higher the number, in each case, the better.

 

[PegB]

I thought you were considering St. Thomas ISLAND instead of surgery, and I was certainly going to weigh in on the pros and cons of such a decision!!!! (Right now I'd be leaning real far towards the Island choice )

Everything I heard is the number of your procedures your surgeon has done, as well as the center. 1 1/2 hours isn't far at all to travel for experience. Not like you're going to be doing this every week.

My Drs. really seemed determined to keep me local, but think about it...if everyone is sent off to the highly rated places....how are the local guys going to get any experience??? Comes down to, do you want to be the one they get their experience on, when there are other options available????

Good luck

 

[geebee]

My insurance wouldn't let me travel for surgery when I had my last OHS. I did a lot of local research, talking to nurses, cardios, and other patients. I needed not only a surgeon who did a number of valve surgeries but also one who specialized in high risk surgeries (which mine was considering the problems I had with my second OHS). I chose a surgeon based on my research and also chose a local hospital that was not "the hospital of choice in Cincinnati". The first time I met the surgeon, and he cancelled a speaking engagement to spend over 3 hours talking to me and my SO, I knew I had made the right choice. He obviously cared about his patients and talked about successes and failures openly. He even teared up at a couple of stories.

I do not regret not being able to travel to CC or Mayo or any of the other big name hospitals. I think trust is the biggest issue in this process (I am sure a lot of people will disagree with me) and, whether your trust is local or national, is unimportant.

I would, of course, advocate making sure you have an experienced surgeon and a hospital with a great support staff.

 

[ALCapshaw2]

I had my BYPASS surgery done by a highly respected local surgeon (who trained at Cleveland Clinic) but was referred to UAB in Birmingham when I needed an AVR.

Valve surgery is a step up from Bypass Surgery and you would probably be safer in the hands of a surgeon who does at least 100 valve jobs per year (or more). You will also want to be under the care of NURSES who know what to watch for in a recovering Valve patient.

Out of curiosity, where are you in TN?

I've heard of St. Thomas Hosp. but don't really know that much about it. Check U.S. News & World Report Hospital ratings to see if it is in the top 50.

'AL Capshaw'

 

[Bryan B]

Piper,

I was living in Nashville when I found out I needed valve surgery. If I had decided to have it done locally I think I would have picked St. Thomas assuming I found a surgeon there that I had complete trust in. I heard nothing but great things about their heart surgery center. Since I was (and am again) from NC and my parents live 30 minutes from Duke I decided to have my surgery there and recuperate at my parent's house. I also had opted for the Ross Procedure...and the only surgeon I could find in N'ville that did the Ross (at the time anyway) was at Vanderbilt, and I felt more comfortable going with the surgeon at Duke. But if I was living in TN, had family in TN, was opting for a tissue or mechanical valve, and found a surgeon on staff at St. Thomas I felt good about I would not hesitate to have surgery at St. Thomas. IMO it's the best hospital in N'ville if you need heart surgery.

Where abouts are you in TN?

 

[pipersmith]

Thanks for the replies!

Thanks for the replies!

I live in Cookeville, Tennessee. It is about an hour and a half east of Nashville.

I will meet with the surgeon here again this month. I did not ask about the number of surgeries in our first meeting. I think at the next meeting, I would like to learn more about how many he has done, his thoughts on minimally invasive, and if I would be a candidate for a repair.

I just found out that a neighbor of mine went to St. Thomas recently (not for VR). I think I may go pick her brain about her experience there.

Thank you all for the input!!!