Thank you everyone!!!

[suz]

Just wanted to say how much all of your contributions into the information bank meant to me and my family. I am happy to report that my dad did go ahead with his surgery yesterday. His valve replacement and aeorta repair surgery lasted 5 hours and went without a hitch.

I shared all of the information that I got here with my dad, Aunt and sister, and I know that it really helped us all.

My brother in law is a doc with Boulder Hospital in CO and had implicite faith in the capabilities of the surgeon. I paid $10 to do a backround check on the fellow and he came up clean. He trained in TX with DeBakey and has an impressive background which includes many heart transplant surgeries. His credentials included thorasic surgery as well as infectious disease in addition to cardiac.

After sharing all the info I got here, in the final weeks before surgery I found some sites about the benefits of a positive mental attitude as well as a site that had some great info on what to expect after surgery with my dad. I am going to post that in a seperate thread.

My dad was in good health, aside from the aeortic stenosis, prior to surgery and I am happy to report that he was a real champ post surgery where he got the thing out of his throat in record time. He is 75 and I know he greatly looks forward to getting back to his hiking and travels to Venice.

I wish you all the very best!!

Suz

re valve type, they ended up putting in a bovine type valve. The doc said that he normally determines whether pig or bovine by the size of the artery, pig being more appropriate for smaller artery replacement.

 

[hensylee]

thanks for letting us know. Sounds like he is coming along just fine. With his good health, he should have an easy recuperation. Give him a hug........

 

[MelissaM]

Hi Suz,

Sounds like you went with Dr. Douthit - yes? He is a great guy and talented surgeon. Glad everything went well. I am just down the road in South Boulder if you need anything!

In fact, I have an appt. with Douthit next week to check sternal wires.

Quick healing to your dad!

Melissa

 

[suz]

Thanks Hensylee! I will pass along your good wishes! I called the ICU this am to check up on him and was shocked that the nurse asked me, "do you want to talk with him" after telling me he was doing just great.

Love your philosophy! I came upon that approach to life at 18 when I suffered a major head injury. Really it is the only way to live!

 

[suz]

Melissa,

Yes that is him! He sort of reminds me of a cleaned up Russell Crowe from his pic online. My sister was really impressed with his focus and manner. She has a point of comparison because her daughter, who was born with a hole in her heart, had corrective surgery at the age of one (which was successful!) She didn't care much for the manner of that Doc, but of course was pleased with the outcome.

My Dad lives in South Boulder too. You are so sweet to make that offer. My sister lives a bit west of the pearl street area.

best,

Suz

 

[Nancy]

Hi Suz-

What wonderful news. Congratulations all around! Thanks for letting us know.

 

[suz]

Hi Nancy,

I was just so happy to hear his voice this morning! Thanks again!

best,
suz

 

[Raverlaw]

Suz,

Congratulations and best wishes to your Dad! I think it is wonderful that you did so much research for him and am sure that it was helpful. Keep us posted on how he is doing- and if he likes to use a computer, direct him our way once he's home and getting around.

Another Colorado valver! What is it with you guys, anyway?

 

[tommy]

Suz,

Wow 75 and recovering well.
Very impressive.
Hope that keeps up and he's hiking and travelling soon.

BTW, not to pry, did you spend any time at Craig Hospital? My brother works there.

 

[suz]

Bill,

Thanks for your good wishes. Once he is back online, I think he will enjoy participating in the active group here. Having lived in Colorado myself for 4 years, my guess is that the high altitude, and it is really high there, is a nasty stressor on the ol valves.

Best,
suz

 

[suz]

Tom,

Thanks for your good wishes! No he hasn't worked with Craig, he has had all of his workups, including surgery for a heartbeat stimulator thing (can't remember the name now) at Boulder Community Hospital.

best,
suz

 

[aniper]

What a timely thread has been started here! I have been lurking for quite some time now, trying to get info for my dad. We recently were directed to Cedars Sinai for consult w/ Dr. Raissi a specialist in Aortas (referral obtained from Arlys here from my post 2 weeks ago). Well, just last night the Dr. phoned my dad about the results. His aortic root is dilated to 5.6-5.9!! Needless to say, we are now scrambling to get 2nd opinion (& maybe 3rd), as well as further necessary tests prior to surgery. My dad is older (78), and I have been hoping to find others who have had successful surgery similar to my dad. My dad too is in excellant health (except for this minor detail, lol). If anyone out there has any other referrals they can provide to me here in L.A., or knows of Dr. Raissi's work (which I'm finding is quite impressive), please e-mail me! [email protected]. I have tried to contact both Bruizer and Conk since they live nearby, but recieved no response yet. Suz, can you tell me what kind of info is in the background check, and how to do one? Thank you all for such a wealth of valuable information! Please pray for my dad.

 

[suz]

Hi Aniper,

I wish you and your family the very best. I am a big believer in second and third opinions if you have that luxury. I will say that my dad came down with a serious infection in the fall which required him to go to the hospital. At that time they thought that he might have to have the valve replacement pronto. After he recovered and went in for subsequent tests, his heart situation looked much better. I used to live in LA and Cedar Sinai certainly has some top notch docs in various disciplines. The online service I used gives you the details of education, certification and if their are any lawsuits or bad stuff. There are anumber of these services available, but I liked this one because after you enter your visa number, you get the info right away. Other services I came across took some time to get you the info. Here is the service I used,

http://www.choicetrust.com/servlet/...alth&product=doctor&subproduct=search&anchor=

The fee for a one time check was $10. If you want to check multiple docs you can go for the 24 hr access at $19.95.

I do have a friend in LA whose wife has had various heart issues, surgeries I imagine. I will try to get ahold of him tomorrow am and find out the name of their doc. I know when I have spoken to him in the past he has great confidence in him. I saved your email address and will email you.

Here is the link to the thread that I had been involved on on this site. I got some great info and also posted a list of questions that I had found online to ask docs re heart surgery/valve replacement.

http://www.valvereplacement.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=5681

best,

suz

 

[aniper]

Thank you Suz,
I guess I did do an equivilant check thru HealthGrades Inc, yesterday. It sounds similar to your resources. My dad's aortic aneurysm is probably the most concern right now, (although they do plan to replace his aortic valve). From what I've been able to gather, this surgery is very specialized, and requires different expertise. Thank you for any info you can provide.

 

[suz]

Aniper,

There were 2 basic parts to my dad's surgery, one was the valve repacement, and they also did repair to the aeorta artery. I am not sure the exact nature/cause of the repair. Their were 3 cardiac surgeons including his doc, during the procedure. I don't know if this is common or not. One thing that I do know is that half way through the procedure, when I got a update call, he did not need any blood, which I thought was remarkable. They had him hooked up to a heart lung machine and were recycling his blood.

One thing I did learn here is that the Cleveland Clinic is the leading Heart group in the nation.

http://www.clevelandclinic.org/heartcenter/

Lots of prayers and good wishes to you and your family. I do know how difficult it is for all of you. My Dad was very much against the idea of a second opinion having full confidence in the Surgeon and the input from my brother in law who is a Radiologist. He felt that a second opinion would in some way question the abilities of the doc that was selected. Personally I would get a second opinion for a hang nail (my Aunt's quote). This was his mindset and it was difficult for me to fathom, but as it turns out, other cardiac surgeons in the doc's practice did review my dad's info and came to the same conclusions.

Best,
suz

 

[suz]

Dad's continued recovery on the fast track

Dad's continued recovery on the fast track

I just had to share the great news here that my dad is just 3 days post op and everyone is surprised by his quick recovery. He has relatively no discomfort which seems to shock his nurses a bit and he used the adjective, "pleasant" to describe how he feels after surgery. He was moved out of ICU and into a room yesterday and he expects to go to the next port of call, a rehabilitation center, on monday. He was in pretty good shape with his hiking and snow skiing pursuits, but I can tell you he wasn't joining Jack LaLane in the excercise room. Hope my dad's great recovery gives others confidence in facing the operating room. His parting comment to me was "moooo."

best,
suz

 

[Raverlaw]

Suz,

That's great news! Sounds like he will pull through very well. I'm sure you're a big encouragement to him.

And... if the "old guys" can pull through so well, then us "younger" folks will have no problems, right? At least that's what I keep telling myself. I've got a friend in his 70s who had a six-way bypass on 12/16/03 and is doing really well. He feels great and looks better than he has in a long time.

So, I'm going to visualize myself coming out of surgery feeling like 29 again!

 

[suz]

There you go Bill!!

Hey I just realized that on the 20th I am going to be flying out to visit my Dad and I will definately be sending good vibes your way! I haven't asked my dad yet if he thought about going to Venice when he was in surgery, but I am definately going to. He is a lawyer too, having been a trial lawyer in chicago for many years.

best,
suz

 

[suz]

I forgot to mention, my dad did not need any blood at all during the 5 hour procedure!!!

best,
suz

 

[aniper]

It's so great to hear that your dad is doing so good. I'm happy to show my dad your fathers case as an example. My dad is dissappointed that he will be missing ski season this year. (he gets free lift tickets since he's over the age limit now!).