Recently, Jim sent me a great question that reads, “Adam – I’m 65 and diagnosed with moderate aortic stenosis. It seems there are a couple of different types of minimally invasive surgery. Can you help me understand that better?”

I was very fortunate to ask this exact question to Dr. Marc Gillinov, a leading heart valve surgeon from the Cleveland Clinic, at the Heart Valve Summit. The highlights of our discussion are provided in this video. (For the patients and caregivers of our community who are hearing impaired, I have provided a written transcript below.)

Thanks to Jim for his question and a special thanks to Dr. Marc Gillinov for his continued support of this website. As you may know, Dr. Gillinov has performed successful surgery on many patients in our community including Robin Williams (the actor and comedian), Don Spencer, Fran Zilko, Sandy Gilbert and Anita Devine.

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Recently, I received a great question from Emilyrae. She wrote, “Adam – I am a healthy person. I’m 68-years old and I just had a successful mitral valve repair.  I’m curious to know, is there anything I can do to ensure that this repair will last the rest of my life?”

While at the Heart Valve Summit, I was fortunate to discuss Emilyrae’s question with Dr. Rawn Salenger, the Director of Valve Surgery at Good Samaritan Hospital in Suffern, New York. The video below contains the highlights of our discussion. (For the members of our community who are hearing impaired, I have provided a written transcript of this video below.)

Thanks to Emilyrae for her question and a special thanks to Dr. Rawn Salenger for taking the time to educate our community about this very important post-operative topic.

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A few days before the Heart Valve Summit, Evan sent me a great question that reads, “Adam – Specific to mitral valve repair with a robot… Are all patients candidates for this surgical technique?”

To provide Evan an expert opinion, I discussed this topic with Dr. Harold Roberts, an experienced heart valve surgeon from Holy Cross Hospital in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. Here are the highlights from our discussion. (A transcript of this interview is provided below for those patients and caregivers in our community who are hearing impaired.)

Thanks to Evan for his great question and a special thanks to Dr. Harold Roberts for sharing his clinical expertise with our community. To learn more about Dr. Roberts and his practice, please click here.

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If you didn’t know… Thanksgiving is, by far, my favorite holiday.

How can you go wrong with comfort food, family, friends and the overwhelming reminder of thankfulness? On that note, I want to extend a tremendous “Thank you!” to all members of this growing community of patients, caregivers, surgeons, cardiologists, nurses, cardiac centers and medical device manufacturers.

Together, we are empowering each other in a way that I never imagined when this project started five years ago. I am continuously touched, moved and inspired by your words, your stories, your encouragement and your ongoing pursuit of healthy hearts.

May you have a very happy and a very safe Thanksgiving!

Gobble! Gobble!

I just learned some great news! Dr. Bruce Lytle, Chairman of the Cleveland Clinic Heart Institute, will be hosting a special, live web chat titled “Ask The Heart Surgeon” this Wednesday at 12 pm (EST). Needless to say, this is an exciting opportunity for patients and caregivers to gain direct access to one of the leading heart valve surgeons.

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