My wife, Robyn, loves the television show Grey’s Anatomy.

That said, on Thursday nights, after Ethan goes to bed, we enjoy watching the trials-and-tribulations of the fictitious Seattle Grace Hospital.

I will admit, the writers of Grey’s Anatomy do a great job developing likable characters (Meredith, McDreamy, The Chief) that are caught in a perpetual whirlwind of personal, professional and medical drama.

However, I want to gently remind us all that Grey’s Anatomy is, to some extent, written and produced to garner ratings and large advertising budgets.

“Why the heck is Adam posting about Grey’s Anatomy?” you might be wondering.

Well, in a recent episode, one of the stories within the hour-long show was about a female patient, late-40s, who needed… Yes, you guessed it… Heart valve replacement surgery.

While Robyn and I were initially excited to watch this patient story develop, we quickly became disappointed. Instead of depicting an accurate account of heart valve surgery, the writers used the heart valve replacement procedure to conjure drama in the form of comedy and horror.

First, there was the comedy… The writers portrayed the patient as silly as she debated the pros-and-cons of using a mechanical valve replacement, a pig valve replacement and a cow valve replacement.

St. Jude Medical’s Regent Mechanical Valve Replacement

Then, came the horror… The patient almost died in the operating room due to a personal issue / love triangle amongst three staff surgeons.

I could go on-and-on-and-on about how unrealistic this episode of Grey’s Anatomy was. But, I won’t. (If you like, you can watch the entire episode online and judge for yourself.)

However, I can’t stop thinking about the patients who watched the show and might be thinking, “Yikes! I’m not having surgery after seeing all that craziness!” I mean… Can you imagine if you were scheduled for surgery and happened to be a Grey’s Anatomy fan?

It’s for this reason, that I want to gently remind us of the known fact that Grey’s Anatomy is just a television show. And, when it comes to heart valve surgery… rather unrealistic.

The reality is that heart valve surgery is a medical miracle. Yes, there is some risk. But, for most, the reality is that patients live longer, healthier lives following the procedure.

Keep on tickin!

Dr. Vince Gaudiani has provided us with several insightful videos in the past. As you might recall, we recently featured Dr. Gaudiani’s two-part video series about heart valve surgery. Given Dr. Gaudiani’s 25-year career as a cardiac surgeon, this video was applauded by our patient and caregiver community.

Yesterday, I learned from Dr. Gaudiani that he has created a new video titled, “How To Think About Surgical Outcomes?” Considering our ongoing discussion about (i) how to manage patient expectations and (ii) how to prepare for surgery, I found this video very, very, very interesting.

Above, you will find the first part of the video. In the next few days, I will post the second part. Simply press the play button and make sure the volume on your computer is on.

[BLOG UPDATE: TO WATCH PART II OF THIS VIDEO, PLEASE CLICK HERE.]

Thanks to Dr. Gaudiani for taking the time to share his unique experiences, thoughts and data. It should be no surprise that if you visit our Heart Surgeon Database, Dr. Gaudiani has received several glowing reviews from our patient community. (Just type “Gaudiani” in the last name search field.)

Keep on tickin!

P.S. To leave a comment, please click here.

Bedora just sent me an interesting question about the use of Cordarone before heart surgery. If you are unfamiliar with Cordarone, this drug is used as an anti-arrhythmic. It works by stabilizing the heart rhythm in conditions in which the heart is beating too fast or in an irregular rhythm.

In her note, Bedora requests patient inputs specific to the use of Cordarone prior to surgery. Personally, I did not need to use Cordarone. Did you? If so, maybe you can leave Bedora a comment after reading her story?

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I just opened an email from John about bovine valve replacement devices and re-operations. I provided some thoughts for John below but perhaps you can help him as well?

John writes, “Hi Adam – Because of a post-operative complication (possible suture failure creating a leak), it appears I will be facing a re-operation to replace my bovine aortic valve. How can I get some advice from other folks who have encountered this problem?”

Obviously, John raises a good question. So you know, I am aware of several patients that required re-operations for most types of valve replacement devices including cow valves, porcine valves and mechanical valves.

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I receive about 50 emails each day about heart valve surgery, from both patients and caregivers. Unfortunately, many of these emails begin with opening statements like:

• “Hi Adam – I am scared out of my mind right now, I was just diagnosed with severe aortic stenosis…”
• “Hi Adam – After monitoring my my mitral prolapse for 10 years, I need surgery. Needless to say I’m a wreck…”
• “Help Adam! My husband is going in for aortic valve replacement tomorrow. I can’t sleep I’m so scared…”

As you can tell, fear is the fundamental emotion expressed in these types of emails.

In the past, we have talked about fear on many occasions. We have turned it into an acronym as F.E.A.R. or Fantasized Experiences Appearing Real. And, I have posted clinical research to illustrate how to dispel your fear of heart surgery.

This morning, I read a wonderful quote from best-selling author, John Roger, that addresses this very common issue among patients and caregivers. Here is the quote:

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