Adam's Heart Valve Surgery Blog

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!

Doug sent me a great question about his options for mitral valve repair surgery. In his email, Doug wrote, “I have severe mitral regurgitation and I need surgery.  I’m considering two surgeons…  One surgeon uses the robot and the other surgeon does not.  Which is a better choice for me?”

To provide Doug an expert opinion, I met with Dr. Steven Bolling, the Director of the Mitral Valve Program at the University of Michigan. During our discussion, Dr. Bolling, who has performed over 3,800 mitral valve operations, offered great insight and research for Doug to consider. Here are the video highlights from our chat.

Thanks to Doug for his question and a special thanks to Dr. Steven Bolling for sharing his clinical expertise with our community.

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Since launching this blog 5 years ago, I have only recommended one book about cardiac care.

Today, I am thrilled to increase my book recommendations by 100% with an emphatic endorsement of “Heart 411″ by Dr. Marc Gillinov and Dr. Steven Nissen. This 550-page guide to heart health is packed with helpful facts, practical guidance and patient stories that will definitely help the 82 million Americans that are diagnosed with cardiovascular disease.

What I enjoyed most about the book was the pace at which Dr. Marc Gillinov and Dr. Steven Nissen intertwined research, evidence and data along with their own clinical experiences that stretch across 50 years of medical practice and 10,000 patients.

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Over the past few months, many patients and caregivers in our community have been fortunate to meet Kelly Nugent and Mitch Friedman at Heart Valve Journals, our social network.

As Kelly and Mitch prepared for heart valve surgery due to aortic regurgitation and mitral regurgitation, they openly shared their experiences, thoughts, feelings and emotions about their pursuit of healthy hearts.

For example… Yesterday, Kelly wrote in her journal:

“I want to thank everyone who is praying for me, from my friends who let me know that I am in their prayers, to the people that are part of prayer requests and pray circles, you are truly beautiful people.” — Kelly Nugent

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Earlier this week, the 48th annual Society of Thoracic Surgeons Meeting (STS) was held in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. During the meeting, cardiac surgeons from around the world gather to discuss the latest strategies for optimal cardiac treatment — including heart valve repair and heart valve replacement procedures.

As our patient and caregiver community is fascinated by medical advances impacting heart valve surgery, I thought you might be interested to learn about a new study released at STS specific to the SAPIEN transcatheter aortic valve replacement device. The SAPIEN, which is manufactured by Edwards Lifesciences, is positioned in the heart using a minimally invasive catheter.

Here are the most recent findings about the SAPIEN’s clinical performance in 822 “inoperable patients” who suffered from severe aortic stenosis and received this aortic valve replacement device transapically — through the ribs:

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