Archive for the 'Mitral Valve Repair' Category

I received a great question from Ken. In his email, Ken writes, “Hi Adam – After being diagnosed with mitral valve prolapse in 1995, I now need surgery to fix the valve. During my research, I have come across robotic valve repair surgery. My question… Is this procedure safe compared to a sternotomy?””

To answer Ken’s question, I recently met with Dr. T. Sloane Guy, MD the chief of cardiovascular surgery at Temple University Hospital. The highlights of our conversation are provided in this video interview. (For the hearing impaired members of our community, I have provided a written transcript below.)

Continue reading this post »

At the recent STS conference in Los Angeles, I was able to meet and discuss several important topics about heart valve surgery with leading cardiac surgeons.

In this video, Dr. Marc Gerdisch, MD, who recently performed mitral valve repair on Angie Gregory, addressed a common misconception among patients who have been diagnosed with severe mitral valve disease. That misconception is that a heart valve replacement is better than a heart valve repair. To learn more, please press play on the video. Also, I have included a written transcript for the hearing impaired members of our community below.

Continue reading this post »

One of the unfortunate realities of heart valve surgery is the possibility of a re-operation. Patients may need a re-operation due to valve device failure, post-operative issues relating to heart valve repair or the progression of valve disease.

To learn more about heart valve re-operations, I recently met with Dr. Anelechi Anyanwu, MD. So you know, Dr. Anyanwu specializes in complex, heart valve re-operations at Mount Sinai Medical Center in New York City. The highlights of our discussion are provided in this video interview. For the hearing impaired members of our community, I have provided a written transcript below.

Continue reading this post »

As we continue to monitor the newest technologies enhancing valvular therapy, I though you might like to know that the NeoChord mitral valve repair system recently received a CE mark for use in Europe.

This unique device, which is not FDA approved in America, enables minimally invasive implantation of artificial chordae using a catheter-based approach. If you did not know, the chordae support the mitral valve leaflets as they open-and-close to move the blood through your heart. If the chordae fail to function properly — due to degenerative (age) or other factors — mitral valve regurgitation can result in the patient.

Continue reading this post »

While reading through your questions submitted for the Heart Valve Summit, I noticed several patients asking about treating mitral valve disease and atrial fibrillation at the same time.

For that reason, I met with Dr. Harold Roberts, a very experienced valve surgeon from Holy Cross Hospital in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. Here are the highlights from our discussion. (If you are hearing impaired, I have provided a written transcript of this video below.)

Continue reading this post »

Patient interest specific to transcatheter aortic valve implantation is very, very, very high. However, patients with mitral valve disorders, including mitral regurgitation, are wondering, “What about me? Are there any catheter-based solutions for mitral valve surgery?”

To answer that question, I interviewed Doctor Steven Bolling at the Heart Valve Summit. So you know, Dr. Bolling is the Director of the Mitral Valve Clinic at the University of Michigan. During his career, Dr. Bolling has performed over 3,000 mitral valve procedures. (If you are hearing impaired, a written transcript of this interview is provided below.)

Continue reading this post »

Leading up to the Heart Valve Summit, I received an interesting question from Jim. He asked,  “Adam – What is the likely progression of systolic anterior motion of the chordae?”

To answer Jim’s question, I met with Doctor David Adams, MD, one of the Program Directors of the Heart Valve Summit and the Chairman of Cardiothoracic Surgery at Mount Sinai Medical Center. The highlights of our discussion are featured in this video. Also, for the patients and caregivers in our community who are hearing impaired, I have provided a written transcript of this conversation below.

Continue reading this post »

Hearing from you — the patients and caregivers of our community — continues to be my favorite part of running this website. That said, I just received a great patient success story from Jeff Adams of Seattle, Washington.

In his email, Jeff wrote to me:

Continue reading this post »

I wanted to shine our “Heart Valve Journals Spotlight” on Trent Viavattene, a mitral regurgitation patient from Plano, Texas.

So you know, Trent is preparing for mitral valve surgery to be performed next Monday by Dr. William Ryan. I could ramble on about Trent, his wife (Amanda) and his two boys (Riley and Jake). Instead, I’d encourage you to visit Trent’s journal and, perhaps, leave him an encouraging note at his guestbook.

Continue reading this post »

I just received an interesting email from Steve about the time in which the heart is iced and stopped during heart valve replacement and heart valve repair surgery.

In his email, Steve writes, “Hi Adam – I am having mitral valve repair surgery next month. One glaring question… I’ve read that when the heart is stopped it is “iced” and therefore can last 2-4 hours without tissue damage.  However, a whole bunch of these surgeries take between 4-7 hours, sometimes more. How do we reconcile the discrepancy? Thank you, Steve”

Continue reading this post »