? to Dr. Pruskas re: PROACT trial & On-x

[Marty]

I e-mailed Dr.Puskas ,chief of heart surgery at Emory, asking him how the trial was going (trying to find out if On-x valvers need to take warfarin) and also what he thought of the On-x compared to St. Jude and Medtronics.

Here is the answer:

Dear Dr Thomas:
I do feel that the On-X valve is superior in design and materials to any of the
previous valves. It was just being introduced to the market 10 years ago when
you had your MVR. (I should mention that I have NO financial relationship to the
valve manufacturer.)

The results of the PROACT trial will not be available for at least 6 years. We
have enrolled over 400 patients, surpassing 1/3 of the planned 1200 patient
enrollment. All will be followed for 5 years.

Results to date are too limited in follow-up to make any recommendation other
than the standard coumadin and baby aspirin that is recommended in the present
ACC/AHA guidelines for anticoagulation of mechanical prostheses.

I can state that the independent Data Safety and Monitoring Board of the PROACT
trial has met regularly to review adverse events in the control and "test"
groups of the Trial. The DSMB is empowered to halt the trial at any time if it
feels that continuing the trial would jeopardize patient safety. It has not
found any reason to contemplate such an action.

Warm regards,

John Puskas

 

[Woodbutcher]

That makes interesting reading. Thanks for posting it.
Here's hoping the trial continues without giving any cause for concern.

 

[skeptic49]

So far, so good! Thanks for posting this.

Jim

 

[terryj]

Marty, Dr. Puskas did my husbands AVR 7 years ago. He has the ATS valve. I can email Dr. Puskas even now with a concern and he always responds. I even let him know when my husband had his colonoscopy done while still on coumadin and he wanted to know his doctors name so he could recommend him to other patients wanting their colonoscopies done while still on coumadin.

 

[Marty]

Marty, Dr. Puskas did my husbands AVR 7 years ago. He has the ATS valve. I can email Dr. Puskas even now with a concern and he always responds. I even let him know when my husband had his colonoscopy done while still on coumadin and he wanted to know his doctors name so he could recommend him to other patients wanting their colonoscopies done while still on coumadin.

In my view Dr. Puskas is one of the most outstanding young heart surgeons in the country. In additiont to being a skilled surgeon and a compassionate physician he is a diligent researcher involved in all kinds of cutting edge projects. I truly don't see how he does it all!

 

[terryj]

My husbands surgery was on 09/11/01. Dr. Puskas was going to do his surgery and then leave for training out of the country for a month. He assured us he was leaving us in very good hands. Well, after the planes hit the towers of course his trip was cancelled. He was very compassionate during my husbands recovery. I did research on him before my husbands surgery and was very impressed with his credentials. When he found out my husband likes to fish he said maybe when he retired they could go fishing together sometime.

 

[Mary]

Thanks for the information, Marty.
I intend to live long enough to need my bovine valve replaced, and so I continue to read the new developments in all valve types.
With any luck, the results from the study will be completed before I need to make any firm decision.
I also expect to need a new surgeon (mine is retirement age) so it's good to read your and Sue's comments regarding Dr. Pruskas.

 

[ALCapshaw2]

It's Dr. Puskas (NOT Pruskas) at Emory Hospital.

Marty slipped an extra "r" in his name in the subject line.

 

[Mary]

It's Dr. Puskas (NOT Pruskas) at Emory Hospital.

Marty slipped an extra "r" in his name in the subject line.

Thanks for the correction, Al.
By the way, did you see Lorraine's post about her sister in Huntsville. I hope you read it and add any extra info concerning UAB to the reply I made.