T
TXpoison
It?s been awhile since I have posted and I wanted to let everyone know what I have found out and have decided. I have talked to three surgeons in Dallas, the last being Dr. William Ryan at Presbyterian Hospital. My wife and I met with him two weeks ago. I was very impressed with all three and would feel comfortable with any of them performing surgery on me. The first two surgeons I spoke with as well as my cardiologist all told me that they thought the mechanical valve was the way for me to go. I had pretty much concluded that mechanical was the way to go and entered my visit with Dr. Ryan expecting to just talk to him about replacement surgery with a mechanical valve. I knew he was well known for the Ross Procedure but didn't think it was for me. Of course he spoke about the Ross Procedure but he didn't push it. He took a lot of time to explain the pros and cons of all of the options. He did say that he thought I would be a good candidate for the Ross. He also told me he would do a modified Maze Procedure to eliminate the atrial flutter I currently have and prevent possible atrial fibrillation in the future. We talked about closing off the Left Atrial Appendage as one of the other surgeons had mentioned this, but he said since he would be doing the Maze there was no need or benefit of closing off the LAA. I left his office thinking that maybe I should consider the Ross. My decision making had just gotten more complicated.
Dr. Ryan has performed about 175 Ross Procedures and has had very few problems with them. One thing that gave me some confidence is that he told me that through experience, he is much more selective about who he performs it on. Once he looks at the heart and surrounding tissue, if there is any indication of tissue disorder or anything else that concerns, he abandons the idea of the Ross and goes to the backup plan.
After a couple of weeks of praying and contemplating I have decided to go with Dr. Ryan and let him do the Ross Procedure if possible with a porcine stentless valve as the backup. I believe this is the best option for me at this time. The clincher came last Friday night. After my meeting with Dr. Ryan I had a few questions I thought of that I wanted to ask him. I had talked with his assistant earlier in the week and she said she would have him call me. Friday was an off day for me and I hadn?t heard from him so I called his office back. His assistant again told me she would have him call me back. I had to run one of kids somewhere late in the afternoon, and when I got home I had a message from Dr. Ryan and he said he would try back later. At 8:30 Friday night he called and we talked for over half an hour. He fully answered all of questions all of my questions without ever sounding like he was in a hurry and needed to go. In fact he did most of the talking; telling me repeatedly that he wanted me to have as much information as possible so that I could make the right choice for me. Needless to say I was very impressed that he called and talked as much as he did.
I go in Tuesday the 25th for a heart cath to check for arterial blockage. I was told to pack an overnight bag in case they found minor blockage and decided to put a stent or stents in. I really hope that they don?t find anything. I am looking at scheduling the surgery around mid November.
I know several members have had the Ross Procedure and have had Dr. Ryan do their valve surgery so any comments would be appreciated as always.
Sorry this is so long. I have been acquiring a lot of information lately.
Ken
Dr. Ryan has performed about 175 Ross Procedures and has had very few problems with them. One thing that gave me some confidence is that he told me that through experience, he is much more selective about who he performs it on. Once he looks at the heart and surrounding tissue, if there is any indication of tissue disorder or anything else that concerns, he abandons the idea of the Ross and goes to the backup plan.
After a couple of weeks of praying and contemplating I have decided to go with Dr. Ryan and let him do the Ross Procedure if possible with a porcine stentless valve as the backup. I believe this is the best option for me at this time. The clincher came last Friday night. After my meeting with Dr. Ryan I had a few questions I thought of that I wanted to ask him. I had talked with his assistant earlier in the week and she said she would have him call me. Friday was an off day for me and I hadn?t heard from him so I called his office back. His assistant again told me she would have him call me back. I had to run one of kids somewhere late in the afternoon, and when I got home I had a message from Dr. Ryan and he said he would try back later. At 8:30 Friday night he called and we talked for over half an hour. He fully answered all of questions all of my questions without ever sounding like he was in a hurry and needed to go. In fact he did most of the talking; telling me repeatedly that he wanted me to have as much information as possible so that I could make the right choice for me. Needless to say I was very impressed that he called and talked as much as he did.
I go in Tuesday the 25th for a heart cath to check for arterial blockage. I was told to pack an overnight bag in case they found minor blockage and decided to put a stent or stents in. I really hope that they don?t find anything. I am looking at scheduling the surgery around mid November.
I know several members have had the Ross Procedure and have had Dr. Ryan do their valve surgery so any comments would be appreciated as always.
Sorry this is so long. I have been acquiring a lot of information lately.
Ken
