Surgeon recommendations?

[musician2k]

Not sure if I'm even allowed to ask this but here goes. As I posted elsewhere, I'm kinda new to this stuff but did have the talk with my cardiologist a few days ago in which he stated strongly that he feels I need OHS to replace a BAV within 2 - 3 months, tops. A surgeon might feel it's needed sooner, or later, who knows. I'm scared to death (fear of sharp things, as someone else on here said! ha ha) but I know it's the right thing to do. I read someone else's post on here where they recommended a thoracic surgeon who's sub-specialty is AV repair & replacement, but I'm having some trouble locating those specific credentials from the surgical group I'll be using's web site... http://www.corvascmds.com/our_physicians.htm

Anyone had BAV replacement surgery in the Indianapolis, Indiana area, feel free to respond here or email me privately at the addy given below. Thanks everyone!

Chris
[email protected]

 

[Marguerite53]

Hi there Music. Okay. So I took 5 minutes and read over your list of surgeons from your link provided. There were 4 who stood out to me for reasons only of their education (which in my book, says alot) Greason spent some time at Mayo Clinic in Rochester. Hanan spent time at Duke and was then given a fellowship to Indiana (meaning they not only paid for his education but gave him living expenses so he could concentrate on his learning and not debt ie, they really wanted him!), Schier went to U Wash in St. Louis. And Walts, while very very young (so not really a good candidate in my estimation) studied at Cleveland Clinic!

So what to do now. Well, I would talk to your cardiologist and see who he/she recommends. Then I would choose 2 or 3 surgeons (check to see if your insurance covers 2nd and 3rd opinions) and make appointments with 2 or 3 surgeons and find out how much experience they each have doing valve replacement or open heart surgeries. I was a "textbook" case and had a "textbook" valve replacement 3 weeks ago. Because there were no extenuating difficulties looming, nor oddnesses to my condition, I was very very comfortable choosing a local surgeon (U Wisconsin, Northwestern background) and can report amazing success!! But, we did find a Stanford trained cardiologist who led me to this surgeon. This surgeon (and his partners) perform 100+ open heart surgeries per year. That was enough under his belt, for me.

Hope this gives you a starting point. Personal chemistry is very important. I found the surgeon much easier to talk with than my cardio, but then I was very well-rehearsed after waiting for 3 years and having this wonderful community here to guide me through with questions and info.

Good luck, and keep us posted on your journey.

Marguerite

 

[PJmomrunner]

I did the same thing Marguerite did, but only Greason stood out to me because he states he has a particular interest in valvular heart disease. Her rationale for looking at the other three makes sense though, so I would run each of their names through PubMed (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?CMD=search&DB=pubmed) and see if that yields any clue as to whether they might have a particular interest in valvular heart disease as well. I would also ask your cardio who he would send his spouse to and why and followup with asking who he would send his spouse to at Corvasc and why. ("He does lots of valve replacements and I know he has a particular interest in BAVD," is a good answer. "He's a top-notch cardiothoracic surgeon," isn't necessarily a good answer if he only does CABG.)

 

[Ross]

If you'll consider traveling, you have us and Cleveland Clinic next door or Some great facilities and surgeons to your West in Illinoise.

 

[sfconstrct]

surgeon

surgeon

get a surgeon that specializes in valve replacement, alot of them do about a 100 a year, all the one I interview did about 200 a year. I gathered name from various sources some in the medical field and some from my cardiologist then checked them out on the web and went the surgeon and the facility I liked most. Good luck. AVR and root repair, Dr. Trento Cedar Sainai, Los Angles.

 

[francie12]

Dr. John Brown, Indianapolis

Dr. John Brown, Indianapolis

Dr. Stelzer, the famed Ross procedure surgeon, suggested several top surgeons to us (we need someone who will take peds cases), one of whom is in Indianapolis--Dr. John Brown, at Riley Children's Hospital. I know the pediatric surgeons often take adult congenital cases and are often the most experienced--don't know if Dr. Brown does take adults, but he is worth a look, whether or not you are interested in a Ross.

 

[geebee]

You might want to PM our member Sherry. She had her surgery at Methodist Hospital in Indianapolis.

 

[musician2k]

Thanks everyone for your informative responses! I will hunt down Sherry and PM her, for sure.

My cardio guy is affiliated with the C.A.R.E. Group here in Indiana. They in turn help run The Heart Center of Indiana. When I quizzed my cardio about the surgeons from there, he stated that they did 100's of these types of procedures (AVR) per year, and the hospital as a whole does 1000's per year. This seemed like good odds, to me......but I'll keep researching.

You might want to PM our member Sherry. She had her surgery at Methodist Hospital in Indianapolis.

 

[Lynlw]

Hi there Music. Okay. So I took 5 minutes and read over your list of surgeons from your link provided. There were 4 who stood out to me for reasons only of their education (which in my book, says alot) Greason spent some time at Mayo Clinic in Rochester. Hanan spent time at Duke and was then given a fellowship to Indiana (meaning they not only paid for his education but gave him living expenses so he could concentrate on his learning and not debt ie, they really wanted him!), Schier went to U Wash in St. Louis. And Walts, while very very young (so not really a good candidate in my estimation) studied at Cleveland Clinic!

So what to do now. Well, I would talk to your cardiologist and see who he/she recommends. Then I would choose 2 or 3 surgeons (check to see if your insurance covers 2nd and 3rd opinions) and make appointments with 2 or 3 surgeons and find out how much experience they each have doing valve replacement or open heart surgeries. I was a "textbook" case and had a "textbook" valve replacement 3 weeks ago. Because there were no extenuating difficulties looming, nor oddnesses to my condition, I was very very comfortable choosing a local surgeon (U Wisconsin, Northwestern background) and can report amazing success!! But, we did find a Stanford trained cardiologist who led me to this surgeon. This surgeon (and his partners) perform 100+ open heart surgeries per year. That was enough under his belt, for me.

Hope this gives you a starting point. Personal chemistry is very important. I found the surgeon much easier to talk with than my cardio, but then I was very well-rehearsed after waiting for 3 years and having this wonderful community here to guide me through with questions and info.

Good luck, and keep us posted on your journey.

Marguerite

I just wanted to say as far as i know all ct surgeons had to go thru fellowships, Lyn

 

[RCB]

Also

Also

I just wanted to say as far as i know all ct surgeons had to go thru fellowships, Lyn

All residencies and fellowships are paid. You must have residency before
you apply for the fellowship match.

 

[TomS]

My two cents

My two cents

I used Len Girardi at Cornell in NYC for my AVR and Anneurism repair. I figured if Clinton and Letterman both went to O.Wayne Isom at Cornell (Clinton didn't get him because Isom was on vacation), that it was good place to start. Isom told me to see Girardi who is on his staff, because he does over 200 valves a year. I compared his numbers with about 10 other surgeons that I spoke with around the country and decided to go with him.
Don't let the college that a doctor went to be the major driver in choosing a surgeon. Only two things matter - how many operations have they done, and what is their mortality rate. Mehmet Oz of Oprah fame gave me a 3-5% chance of not making it. Girardi's mortality rate for AVR and anneurysm repair is seven tenths of one percent. The difference is volume for my specific operation, as well as skill.
The only other places that I considered were the Cleveland Clinic and Houston Texas Heart Institute. Cleveland may be your best choice based on proximity. But again - don't choose the hospital - choose the surgeon.
Good luck.
Tom

 

[Sherry]

Chris, check your e-mail. I sent you a long note today.