StretchL
Well-known member
Just an FYI-
Today I ran into Dr. George Vetrovec, my cardiologist and the chief cardio at Virginia Commonwealth University Hospital here in Richmond. He told me that Dr. Stelzer, of Beth Israel in NYC, had called him last night to discuss the possibility of me having a Ross Procedure in November. You may recall that Dr. Stelzer spend five-and-a-half hours talking with my wife and I about the procedure on Labor Day Saturday in his office.
Neither Vetrovec nor the surgeon he referred me to, also here at VCU, were enthusiastic about the Ross. Over the last several weeks, I have been sharing some of my research with Dr. V, and although I don't think he read much of it, he did seem to appreciate that I was looking seriously at the various options. But I wanted Stelzer and Vetrovec to kibbutz about the thing themselves.
Today Dr. V said that Stelzer "is quite a salesman... and sounds like a pretty good surgeon, too." Vetrovec said something about Stelzer taking time to master the Ross and that being a good thing, since the learning curve is so steep, a point to which Stelzer and other Ross surgeons will attest.
After a couple of minutes, Vetrovec said that if I want to stay off Coumadin then the Ross sounds to him like a reasonable option. I asked him if he'd still see me afterwards and he promised not to "disown" me. I told him I'd be his guinea pig for the Ross. We both laughed, had a good, long handshake, and he went off to a meeting.
I reckon the next time I see him will be after my valve has been replaced... with something.
I've set September 30 as my deadline for my decision.
Today I ran into Dr. George Vetrovec, my cardiologist and the chief cardio at Virginia Commonwealth University Hospital here in Richmond. He told me that Dr. Stelzer, of Beth Israel in NYC, had called him last night to discuss the possibility of me having a Ross Procedure in November. You may recall that Dr. Stelzer spend five-and-a-half hours talking with my wife and I about the procedure on Labor Day Saturday in his office.
Neither Vetrovec nor the surgeon he referred me to, also here at VCU, were enthusiastic about the Ross. Over the last several weeks, I have been sharing some of my research with Dr. V, and although I don't think he read much of it, he did seem to appreciate that I was looking seriously at the various options. But I wanted Stelzer and Vetrovec to kibbutz about the thing themselves.
Today Dr. V said that Stelzer "is quite a salesman... and sounds like a pretty good surgeon, too." Vetrovec said something about Stelzer taking time to master the Ross and that being a good thing, since the learning curve is so steep, a point to which Stelzer and other Ross surgeons will attest.
After a couple of minutes, Vetrovec said that if I want to stay off Coumadin then the Ross sounds to him like a reasonable option. I asked him if he'd still see me afterwards and he promised not to "disown" me. I told him I'd be his guinea pig for the Ross. We both laughed, had a good, long handshake, and he went off to a meeting.
I reckon the next time I see him will be after my valve has been replaced... with something.
I've set September 30 as my deadline for my decision.
as that is exactly how it can get around here. On the flip side of the coin from the "staying off the table" thinking, I am a kind of flabby, 52 year old housewife whose surgery was a breeze. I certainly don't want to do it again soon.....nor am I expecting the next one (which I kind of signed up for) to be as easy in any way. But. I'm very, very happy with the choice I made. If I hadn't been lucky, I'm sure I might think otherwise. As it stands, the next 15 to 20 years should offer me the lifestyle I felt I needed to have. You are you. It is good to honor that. Whomever you are.
