Jake sent me a great question relating to pain, minimally invasive surgical approaches and recovery. He writes, “Adam — I hear a lot about minimally invasive procedures being much better for pain and recovery. Is that true? Thanks, Jake”

During the Heart Valve Summit, I was very fortunate to ask Jake’s question to Dr. Kevin Accola, a leading cardiac surgeon who has performed over 9,000 cardiac procedures including 2,400 heart valve operations. Here are the highlights from our discussion:

Thanks to Jake for his question and a special thanks to Dr. Kevin Accola for taking the time to meet with us and share his clinical expertise. As you may know, Dr. Accola has performed successful surgery on many members of our community including:

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In 2004, one of the leading heart valve surgeons came home.

In the midst of his 30-year career, which includes time at Stanford University, The Mayo Clinic and The Cleveland Clinic, Dr. Patrick McCarthy returned to Chicago, the city of his birth, to lead the Bluhm Cardiovascular Institute at Northwestern Memorial Hospital.

Given Dr. McCarthy’s clinical achievements, research, cardiac inventions, publications and patient recommendations, I was thrilled to receive an invitation to tour Northwestern prior to the Heart Valve Summit.

Dr. Patrick McCarthy – Chief, Division of Cardiac Surgery
Bluhm Cardiovascular Institute, Northwestern Memorial Hospital

During the tour, which included several meetings with medical and administrative teams, I quickly came to understand four  reasons why so many patients within our community are enthusiastic about this program – which is currently ranked by US News and World Report at:

• No. 16 for cardiovascular care across the nation; and
• No. 1 for cardiovascular care in the Chicago-metro area.

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As we learned last Thursday, the FDA just approved the new SAPIEN transcatheter aortic valve replacement for inoperable patients. This exciting announcement has left many patients and caregivers wondering why the SAPIEN is only for inoperable patients in the United States.

At the recent Heart Valve Summit, I was able to discuss this important topic with Dr. Lars Svensson, one of the leading heart valve surgeons at The Cleveland Clinic. Here are the highlights of Dr. Svensson’s response to Cory’s question, “Why are the new transcatheter therapies only for inoperable patients?”

For the patients and caregivers of our community who are hearing impaired, I have provided a written transcript of this video interview below.

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As I write this, I am flying home to Los Angeles after attending the 2011 Heart Valve Summit. The meeting was beyond exciting as over 500 cardiologists, surgeons, anesthesiologists, physician assistants and nurses congregated in Chicago to discuss the treatment of heart valve disease — including heart valve repair and heart valve replacement surgery.

Over the next few weeks, I will be posting several educational videos filmed at the Heart Valve Summit. However, I thought you might like to learn more about this special event. That said, I asked Dr. David Adams, the Program Director of the Heart Valve Summit, to describe the significance of this meeting for the patients and the caregivers of our community.

Thanks to Dr. David Adams, the 500+ attendees, the American College of Cardiology and the American Association of Thoracic Surgeons for working together to extend and enhance our lives!

I also want to thank the medical device manufacturers who exhibited at the Heart Valve Summit. It was very neat to see, touch and learn about the technologies provided by Medtronic, St. Jude Medical, Cryolife, Sorin, Philips Healthcare, LSI Solutions and Edwards.

Personally, I was fascinated by the new CoreValve device, which is designed to replace the aortic valve without an incision to the patient’s sternum or ribs.

CoreValve Transcatheter Aortic Valve Replacement (Medtronic)

I was also quite amazed by the Philips 3D Transesophageal Echocardiogram (3D TEE) which enables surgeons and their medical teams to see images of the heart — including our valves — in three dimensions, in real-time, during cardiac procedures.

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I just received an interesting question from Joanie. She writes, “Hi Adam – My husband had mitral valve repair surgery three days ago. I noticed that he’s gained 8 pounds since the surgery. The doctors say the gain is due to fluid intake. Is this common? What fluids did they use? How long until he loses the fluid? Thanks, Joanie.”

While I had my thoughts on the topic, I wanted to provide Joanie an expert opinion. That said, I contacted Dr. Larry Cohn, who practices at Brigham & Women’s Hospital in Boston. During his 40-year career, Dr. Cohn has performed over 10,000 cardiac procedures.

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