Each time I meet a cardiac surgeon with a “Chief”, “Chairman” or “Director” in front of their name, I feel extraordinarily humble. I know those titles are not easy to attain. I know these physicians have spent their entire lives learning, researching and teaching about cardiac care. Lastly, I know these doctors have spent thousands of hours in the operating room pursuing surgical perfection, always innovating to improve patient outcomes.

For example… Consider the career of Dr. Alfredo Trento, the Chairman of Cardiothoracic Surgery at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles. During his 30-year career, Dr. Trento has performed over 7,500 cardiac procedures of which 4,000 operations included valvular treatment.

Dr. Alfredo Trento – Cedars-Sinai Medical Center

As a result of his clinical experience and innovative approach to cardiac care, Doctor Trento has published over 150 research papers and has been featured in over 300 scientific journals. To better understand the professional and personal story of Dr. Trento, I encourage to watch this fascinating video with Florence Henderson, one of Dr. Trento’s heart valve surgery patients.

Within our patient and caregiver community, Dr. Trento is one of the most recommended doctors at the surgeon locator. As shown below, his patients offer glowing testimonials for Dr. Trento and Cedars-Sinai Medical Center.

“Dr. Alfredo Trento is a highly qualified and competent surgeon. He is very pleasant and patient. He is also very attentive to all aspects of the procedure — both before and after. His staff reflects his overall attitude. They are also very friendly and accessible.” –Robin Hirsch, Aortic Valve Replacement

“Dr. Trento and the staff at Cedars-Sinai were wonderful. They took amazing care of me. I went home 4 days after the surgery and back to work after 4 weeks. I resumed full activity after 3 months. It was a fantastic experience. ” — Donald Andrew Church, Ross Procedure

Personally, I was very fortunate to watch Dr. Trento perform mitral valve repair surgery at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center. As shown below, this procedure involved the experimental use of the MitraClip, a new catheter-based technology that reduces severe mitral regurgitation for inoperable patients. Today, Cedars-Sinai is one of the most experienced cardiac centers using percutaneous devices for valvular disorders.

Dr. Trento Performing Mitral Valve Repair Surgery

On behalf of our community, thanks to Dr. Trento for his life-long pursuit of healthy hearts. If you would like to learn more about Dr. Trento, please click here. Or, you can contact his office by calling (888) 519-2973.

Keep on tickin!

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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The possibilities of transcatheter valvular therapy are exciting. However, these minimally-invasive approaches to treating heart valve disorders are new and still without FDA approval in the United States. That said, my inbox is filled with patient and caregiver questions about devices including the CoreValve, the SAPIEN and the MitraClip.

For example, Gayle recently sent me an email asking, “Adam — Can patients with a failed mitral valve repair be eligible candidates for the MitraClip?” At the recent Heart Valve Summit in Chicago, I asked Dr. Steven Bolling, the Director of The Mitral Valve Program at the University of Michigan, this exact question. Here are the highlights from our discussion.

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Following up on our recent discussion about the MitraClip clinical trials…

This transcatheter device, designed to treat mitral regurgitation without surgery, was just recalled. Abbott Laboratories, the manufacturer of this new technology, recalled the MitraClip on a worldwide basis due to issues with its delivery system.

The MitraClip (Abbott Laboratories)

According to The Wall Street Journal, Abbott identified three cases where a ring designed to make the catheter visible to imaging equipment fell off during the implantation process. Sadly, one patient died after the procedure. Previously implanted MitraClips are not impacted by the recall. So, patients with the device do not need to undergo another procedure.

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I’ve received several questions about the use of Pradaxa as a potential Coumadin-substitute for patients with atrial fibrillation, valve disease and/or mechanical heart valve replacements. I am a “better safe than sorry” type guy, so I wanted to make sure our patient community was on the same page specific to this new anticoagulant.

For those of you unfamiliar with Pradaxa, it was approved by the FDA in October, 2010. Following the results of its RE-LY study, Pradaxa is now considered by some to be an alternative to Coumadin — an established anticoagulant (blood thinner) for preventing strokes in patients with atrial fibrillation. During the RE-LY trial, patients with atrial fibrillation taking Pradaxa had fewer strokes compared to those using Coumadin.

In light of this news, patients in our community – including Gene – sent me questions about Pradaxa. I contacted Dr. Niv Ad, chief of cardiothoracic surgery at Inova Heart & Vascular Institute in Virginia, to learn more about this drug and its potential utility for patients with mechanical heart valve replacements.

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