Surgeons in Southeast

[Superbob]

With a 5.1 cm aneurysm of the aortic root, it is a good bet I will have my second round of heart surgery sooner or later. (Soon enough not to have a dissection, hopefully.) I have sent everything on disks to my 2005 surgeon in D.C. area; he got it late last week, and hopefully I will hear from him soon. He's good and right now I would be inclined to go back to him for any new surgery. However, that is a long haul to come back home afterwards, and expensive to house relatives, etc.

I may ask him if he can recommend other outstanding surgeons down this way. Maybe Atlanta? Maybe Duke? Maybe Columbia, S.C.? Any folks here have any suggestions I might start checking out? As I said, I think I would go back to Northern Virginia, but wanted to be aware of my options. Thanks.

Guess I am in the waiting room -- yikes! Guess I needed something else to worry about.

 

[vhmoriarty]

I live in Knoxville, TN. Not sure how far that is from you. Here is a link to our surgeons.

http://www.etcvsg.com/

 

[DebbyA]

Is East Carolina Heart Institute in Greenville, NC, any closer? Someone from SC had AVR with Chitwood there recently.

Hope you hear from Dr Speir soon and get better sense of where this will lead you.

 

[Dorsai]

I had a 5.5cm aortic root aneurysm that was fixed two weeks ago by Dr. Edward Chen of Emory University. He's apparently The Man in Atlanta for this kind of thing, and based on my good results to date I can see why. I encourage you to check him out.

 

[Lynlw]

IF I lived near you and in your shoes, I'd definately get a 2nd op at Duke, Dr. Jagger http://www.dukehealth.org/physicians/james_jaggers He is also the Childrens/adults with CHD surgeon so has alot of exprerience with REDOS ect and I know several children with very complex CHDs and multiple surgeries who go to him, and I've heard alot of good things about him. Also the Ross and aortas are some of his specialities Clinical Interests:
"Pediatric cardiac surgery with emphasis on neonatal repairs including Norwood procedures, arterial switch procedure, and pediatric cardiac transplants; adult congenital heart surgery and Ross procedures; neonatal cardiac repairs; surgery for Marfan's syndrome; aortic valve repair "

 

[ALCapshaw2]

From what I read, THE Aorta Surgeon in the SouthEast is Dr. Edward P. Chen at Emory University Hospital in Atlanta, GA.

Several of our members have used him.
You can find their comments by doing a Search for "Chen".

EDIT -

I'm trying to find a Profile on Dr. Chen that I recall reading but have not yet been successful.

Here are some comments about Dr. Chen by other membersL

From Scuba 898:
I saw 3 surgeons and liked Chen the best. he told me that he performs 350 surgeries a year, a large majority of those he said were on the aorta, then standard bypasses and about 20 valve-sparring repairs. the other 2 surgeons were very good too, but thought that mech was best for me. .....
========

From DeWayne:
I know when I aksed my cardiologist why she told us Dr. Chen she was quick to say that there would be no one ever more prepared for a surgery than Dr. Chen and that people came from all over the world to see him because of his expertise in aortic surgery. The way she explained it made me quite comfortable with the choice, and after having been through it all I would not change a thing.
==========

Someone else reported that Dr. Chen is reported to do more Surgery of the Aorta than anyone else in the SouthEast... (I forgot who posted that).

Still can't find the post containing his profile.
There are links on GOOGLE (Search for "Dr. Edward Chen" or "Dr. Edward P Chen" as there are MANY 'Dr. Chen's around the country!)

'Al Capshaw'

 

[bvdr]

Bob, I had my surgery at Duke back in 2003. At the time, Dr.Glower was one of the very best in the country in minimally invasive cardiac surgery. I don't know if aneurysm repair can be accomplished via minimally invasive or not but regardless, he is a fine surgeon. If you go to the Duke Hospital University web page you can read about each of their surgeons. I'll try to find the link and add it if possible.
http://www.dukehealth.org/locations/duke_hospital

 

[Superbob]

Thanks for all these great replies, and for PMs I have received. Instead of responding individually, I think I will keep in thread and go back and look after I have heard from my former surgeon. Will definitely read all the links in meantime with great interest. Thanks again!

 

[lb151]

I,like Betty,would recommend Dr. Glower at Duke, or any member of the group there. It's worth the research for sure.

 

[vhmoriarty]

Wishing you the best of luck!

 

[ALCapshaw2]

Just as Valve Surgery is a step up from ByPass Surgery,
Surgery of the Aorta (for aneurisms) is a step up from basic Valve surgery.

We have had members who had to find Aorta Specialists to literally Save Their Lives after Botched Valve / Aorta Surgery by less experienced Surgeons, especially in cases involving Connective Tissue Disorders which are often associated with Aortic Aneurisms.

SO, THE Key Question for ANY Surgeon you interview should be something along the lines of: How Much Experience do you have doing Surgery of the Aorta and what are your outcomes?

EDIT - I added some member comments about Dr. Chen to my previous post. Still trying to find his profile, but noted that one member reported that he is (alledged) to perform more Surgeries of the Aorta than anyone in the SouthEast.

'AL Capshaw'

 

[Lynlw]

From what I read, THE Aorta Surgeon in the SouthEast is Dr. Edward P. Chen at Emory University Hospital in Atlanta, GA.

Several of our members have used him.
You can find their comments by doing a Search for "Chen".

EDIT -

I'm trying to find a Profile on Dr. Chen that I recall reading but have not yet been successful.

Here are some comments about Dr. Chen by other membersL

From Scuba 898:
I saw 3 surgeons and liked Chen the best. he told me that he performs 350 surgeries a year, a large majority of those he said were on the aorta, then standard bypasses and about 20 valve-sparring repairs. the other 2 surgeons were very good too, but thought that mech was best for me. .....
========

From DeWayne:
I know when I aksed my cardiologist why she told us Dr. Chen she was quick to say that there would be no one ever more prepared for a surgery than Dr. Chen and that people came from all over the world to see him because of his expertise in aortic surgery. The way she explained it made me quite comfortable with the choice, and after having been through it all I would not change a thing.
==========

Someone else reported that Dr. Chen is reported to do more Surgery of the Aorta than anyone else in the SouthEast... (I forgot who posted that).

Still can't find the post containing his profile.
There are links on GOOGLE (Search for "Dr. Edward Chen" or "Dr. Edward P Chen" as there are MANY 'Dr. Chen's around the country!)

'Al Capshaw'

Dr. Edward P. Chen at Emory University http://www.emoryhealthcare.org/find...sessionid=15973027&search=Search by Specialty

Is the link I found at Emery, but not sure if it is the right one, I don't know much about him personally but since he's only been an attending 6 years and if Scuba is right and he does 350 total surgeries a year (that is about 7 a week, which is pretty low) I can't imagine he does more aorta surgery than anyone else in the South East. Unless , do you know if this guy Dad might be a surgeon too?

 

[Lionheart]

Wow Bob,
You've got one of the top-ten cardiac surgical hospitals in the country at your back door, right there in Piedmont North Carolina-tobacco country, textiles, huntin dogs, buttermilk ham biscuits, southern girls, and heart surgeons. What more could you ask for?

Duke (Go Blue Devils!) ranks #8 in US News

http://health.usnews.com/health/best-hospitals/heart-and-heart-surgery-hospital-rankings/name+/state+NC/sort+rank/page_number+1/page_size+25

Take care,
John

 

[Superbob]

Wow Bob,
You've got one of the top-ten cardiac surgical hospitals in the country at your back door, right there in Piedmont North Carolina-tobacco country, textiles, huntin dogs, buttermilk ham biscuits, southern girls, and heart surgeons. What more could you ask for?

Duke (Go Blue Devils!) ranks #8 in US News

http://health.usnews.com/health/best-hospitals/heart-and-heart-surgery-hospital-rankings/name+/state+NC/sort+rank/page_number+1/page_size+25

Take care,
John

Lots of delicacies right there, John. Plus, they play some right good basketball, too.

 

[ALCapshaw2]

Wow Bob,
You've got one of the top-ten cardiac surgical hospitals in the country at your back door, right there in Piedmont North Carolina-tobacco country, textiles, huntin dogs, buttermilk ham biscuits, southern girls, and heart surgeons. What more could you ask for?

Duke (Go Blue Devils!) ranks #8 in US News

http://health.usnews.com/health/best-hospitals/heart-and-heart-surgery-hospital-rankings/name+/state+NC/sort+rank/page_number+1/page_size+25

Take care,
John

Duke is a well known and respected Heart Hospital.

Anybody know who their Aorta Specialist is?

 

[terryj]

My husband had his AVR at Emory in Atlanta and Dr. John Puskas was his surgeon. We were very happy with him from our first meeting before surgery to the last visit after sugery.

 

[ryen0]

I believe Emory and St. Josephs are probably the best "heart" hospitals in the southeast.

 

[Lynlw]

Duke is a well known and respected Heart Hospital.

Anybody know who their Aorta Specialist is?

Did you read what I wrote about Jagger? Also beside the aorta, since this will be his 2nd OHS, I'd want to make sure they have alot of experience with REDOS

 

[bvdr]

Wow Bob,
You've got one of the top-ten cardiac surgical hospitals in the country at your back door, right there in Piedmont North Carolina-tobacco country, textiles, huntin dogs, buttermilk ham biscuits, southern girls, and heart surgeons. What more could you ask for?

Duke (Go Blue Devils!) ranks #8 in US News

http://health.usnews.com/health/best-hospitals/heart-and-heart-surgery-hospital-rankings/name+/state+NC/sort+rank/page_number+1/page_size+25

Take care,
John

My eldest son, a Carolina alumnus, said the reason I was put in Duke a day early for my valve replacement was the extra time needed to work on the tarheel, blue devil compatibility problem. We are very fortunate to have such a highly ranked facility in our state. The heart hospital in Pinehurst has begun construction but still is looking like a giant erector set. I think if it finishes before I need further work I'll have to really consider using the hospital 5 minutes from my front door.

 

[Rebecca]

My doctor that I see likes Dr. Edward P. Chen at Emory. If you go to St. Josephs Dr. Alan Wolf is the one to see. Dr. Alan Wolf also does the ross.