This is an exciting time for the medical treatment of diseased heart valves. As demonstrated in prior blogs, unique technologies are rapidly evolving to correct heart valve disorders including aortic stenosis and mitral regurgitation. That said, conversations specific to minimally invasive heart valve procedures often stimulate exciting clinical and patient possibilities.

Dr. Husam Balkhy – Chairman of Cardiac Surgery,
The Wisconsin Heart Hospital

On this note, I recently had the opportunity to interview Dr. Husam Balkhy, Chairman of Cardiac Surgery at The Wisconsin Heart Hospital. As you may remember, Dr. Balkhy has been intimately involved in the adaptive use of the Da Vinci surgical robot for aortic valve replacement surgery.

If you are interested in learning more about the current and future use of robotics for aortic valve replacement, please read the interview notes provided below:

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If you have yet to visit our new social network, Heart Valve Journals, I would encourage you to stop by. Since launching this new community, thousands of patients and caregivers have used this online network to meet, support and stay in-touch with each other.

At 22 years of age, Trevor Nelson is one of the younger patients to benefit from the unique features of Heart Valve Journals. If you have some time, please click here to visit Trevor’s journal. As you will soon see, Trevor has posted 30+ journals, 10+ pictures, and received 150+ comments in his Guestbook.

Best of all, Trevor is doing very well one month after aortic valve surgery!!!

Keep on tickin’ Trevor!

My inbox is overflowing with great questions about Dr. Eric Roselli’s chat scheduled for today, Wednesday, July 7 at 2pm (EST). That said, I will use this blog to answer the six, most common questions about this special event:

QUESTION 1 – Can I still register for the event?
Answer: Yes, you can still register for the event. To sign-up for the event, simply click this link and follow the instructions.

QUESTION 2 – Is the online chat free? Or, do I need to pay?
Answer: The event is completely free for everybody.

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I just received an interesting question from Tanya about calcified heart valve leaflets.

Tanya writes, “Dear Adam – I am hoping you can help me better understand my diagnosis of mitral stenosis. The doctor mentioned that I am moderate-to-severe and could be facing surgery soon. The cardiologist also said that my valve may be calcified. I’m curious…. Do you have any pictures of a calcified valve? Thanks! Tanya”

Calcified Mitral Valve

Like Tanya, I also wanted to know what a calcified heart valve looked like when I was diagnosed with aortic stenosis – prior to my heart valve replacement surgery.

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If you are preparing for or recovering from aortic valve surgery, here is a great way to get your questions answered from a surgical expert. This Wednesday, July 7 at 2pm (EST), Dr. Eric Roselli, one of The Cleveland Clinic’s leading heart surgeons, will answer your questions during a special online chat.

To ensure that your question is answered during the event, please click this link to ask your question in the “reply section” of this blog. Or, you can email me at adam@heart-valve-surgery.com. I will immediately pass your questions onto Dr. Roselli for the upcoming chat.

Registration for the chat: If you would like to participate in the free online chat this Wednesday with Dr. Roselli, simply click here to register!

Keep on tickin!