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Lisa Silvermanposted an update
47 minutes ago
I have a question about blood pressure changes post op. I had a mitral valve repair in November 2024 and had been treated for hypertension most of my adult ...Read more
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Upcoming Patient Surgeries
I have a strange question - is the metal that is used to suture your ribs metal? How do you know if your body will reject it or you will be allergic to it ?
...Read more
...Read more
HI Just introducing myself. When I was a teen I had coarctation of the aorta. Now Im having another cardio cath lab pre second surgery coming right up. I wasnt ...Read more
Well, it has been confirmed, I cannot use either of the transcatheter options Northwestern offers for the tricuspid valve because I am allergic to Nickel.... Read more
Maureen Hoganson Hi Kimberly - I am so sorry to hear about your allergies/sensitivies! That is good that they were abl ... Read more
Melinda Donahue Oh no!!! How did you find out you were allergic to nickel? Aren’t there any other metals that are u ... Read more
Sharon Behl writes, "I just read your other post and I totally recommend Dr. David Adams and his team! Mount Sinai's food was terrible for vegetarians but the medical expertise ...Read more
Melinda Donahue Sharon you made me burst out crying. I am so happy you answered. God bless you and am so happy you ar ... Read more
Educational Video About Mitral Regurgitation
Surgeon Q&A: The Risk Vs. Benefit of Asymptomatic Mitral Valve Surgery
Doctor Interviewed:
Dr. Junaid Khan
Surgeon Q&A: The Risk Vs. Benefit of Asymptomatic Mitral Valve Surgery
Grateful for 1 year. God has blessed me to see 1 year after AVR/Cabgx4. I am feeling better everyday. I appreciate this website and all the support and... Read more
Susan Dunne Congratulations.
Marie Myers Happy Anniversary!!
Heading home to NC after a successful re-do at Cleveland Clinic. So grateful for so many things.
Melinda Donahue God bless you
Susan Dunne Congratulations. Glad you are heading home🙋
Check out the new edits to 'My Story' page by clicking here.
New Posts About Medical Technology
Clinical Trial Alert: New CardiaMend Patch to Stop Post-Op Atrial Fibrillation
Post-operative AFib is a BIG PROBLEM that impacts up to 30% of heart surgery... Read More.
Cardiac Innovation: BeSPoKE Procedure for Patient Prosthesis Mismatch
Getting the right-sized valve is imperative for achieving successful outcomes after aortic valve replacement.... Read More.
Richard Munson writes, "When you have your consult write down a list of questions beforehand. Such as repair or replace ( on rare occasions they decide after they get in there so picking ...Read more
Melinda Donahue Thanks so much I will write these down now.
Richard Munson Yes, important to write them down and bring it with you. Easy to forget once you get in the meeting. ... Read more
Melinda Donahue Thanks Richard - my appointment is on August 13 - I know I sound like a big baby but just so petrifie ... Read more
By any chance, have any Californians here had surgery with Dr Castro at his new location at Marin Health?
Robert Miller I had surgery with Dr. Castro but that was at his "old" location at Sequoia. He is amazing and in my ... Read more
Kate Watson Thank you, Robert! I had a much better consult with him than the big wig at Stanford. Dr Castro assur ... Read more
Robert Miller Big wig = Dr. Woo? Dr. Woo's staff was very nice and actually a lot more informative than Dr. Woo him ... Read more
Kate Watson Haha yes that's the big wig I meant. I don't like talking bad about people either especially because ... Read more
Meredith Bray writes, "Hey Jackie, I must have missed you email, would you like to send it again? Or you can find me on facebook - /meredithbray. You asked what the average lifespan ...Read more
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I was supposed to restart desk duties at work today but the surgeon’s team had a miscommunication and screwed up my paperwork.
So I guess I’ll be ...Read more
So I guess I’ll be ...Read more
Marie Myers And that isn’t so bad…
Kate Watson Yeah that doesn't sound terrible but boring. I just saw that you are from Camano Island! We lived th ... Read more
Susan Lynn John - It's a tough situation, but try to make the best of it. 
Gary Fabre
Hi - I am scared to death - I have been seeing my cardiologist for years and the statement made to me from him was not if you will need mitral valve surgery ...Read more
Richard Munson Scared is normal but by taking control of the situation is the answer. Maybe they can repair the valv ... Read more
John Cook It is scary at first. I felt numb for about a week when I was told it was time for surgery. I was able to take comfort in the fact that the risk of surgery and the recovery process is so much better now. At a high volume facility, which Mr. Sinai has to be, the risk of surgery is less than 1%.
I had my Ross procedure surgery 27 days ago and I’m already back to doing 2-mile walks around my neighborhood.
One of the main reasons doctors recommend surgery a lot earlier than they used to is because patients have much better post-surgical outcomes with early intervention (severe stenosis or regurgitation and minimal or no symptoms).
... Read more
I had my Ross procedure surgery 27 days ago and I’m already back to doing 2-mile walks around my neighborhood.
One of the main reasons doctors recommend surgery a lot earlier than they used to is because patients have much better post-surgical outcomes with early intervention (severe stenosis or regurgitation and minimal or no symptoms).
... Read more
Melinda Donahue thank you for your comments Richard and John. Richard, thankfully it will be (I'm told) repair, so t ... Read more
Robert Miller Yes, get this taken care of sooner than later for many reasons. The older you get the harder surgery ... Read more
John Cook It’s okay to be scared. There will be difficult times but you’ll get through them just as I and everyone else on here did. And the good news is those difficult times are usually short in duration.
- I was in ICU for 5 days, 3 of them were very difficult.
- I was in a regular hospital room for another 6 days, most of them were good days. (11 days in hospital is longer than most people).
- The next 7 days I had both good and bad days while I adjusted to being back home.
... Read more
- I was in ICU for 5 days, 3 of them were very difficult.
- I was in a regular hospital room for another 6 days, most of them were good days. (11 days in hospital is longer than most people).
- The next 7 days I had both good and bad days while I adjusted to being back home.
... Read more
Melinda Donahue Robert I am asymptomatic right now with inklings of afib appearing which is why my cardio is sending me for a surgical consult. Your comment definitely resonated.
John why did you have stay in icu so long ?Why was it so difficult ? What happens if you do
not mind me asking
... Read more
John why did you have stay in icu so long ?Why was it so difficult ? What happens if you do
not mind me asking
... Read more
Robert Miller @Melinda I was asymptomatic also but then things did go south quickly. In any case, when you get surg ... Read more
Melinda Donahue I will thank you. - what they will remove ?
Melinda Donahue I feel like this is the only place I can ask very emotional questions to because you are all probably ... Read more
John Cook Melinda,
There were 2 issues: The first is I had edema problems going into surgery from recently diagnosed Psoriatic Arthritis. I put on another 16lbs of water after the surgery.
I don’t really remember the first 2 days in ICU. But the 3 really tough days I remember, I was on diuretics and had water restrictions to force me to lose all that water fast. The diuretics affected my kidney function. My electrolytes kept dropping because I was flushing so much fluid out. If my electrolytes dropped too much, I’d go into V-tach. They wouldn’t move me out of ICU until I reached my “dry weight.” I ended up dropping 21lbs of water by the time I left the ICU. I had to apologize to several nurses after I stabilized because I was not a fun guy to be around for those 3 days.
... Read more
There were 2 issues: The first is I had edema problems going into surgery from recently diagnosed Psoriatic Arthritis. I put on another 16lbs of water after the surgery.
I don’t really remember the first 2 days in ICU. But the 3 really tough days I remember, I was on diuretics and had water restrictions to force me to lose all that water fast. The diuretics affected my kidney function. My electrolytes kept dropping because I was flushing so much fluid out. If my electrolytes dropped too much, I’d go into V-tach. They wouldn’t move me out of ICU until I reached my “dry weight.” I ended up dropping 21lbs of water by the time I left the ICU. I had to apologize to several nurses after I stabilized because I was not a fun guy to be around for those 3 days.
... Read more
Melinda Donahue Oh my goodness! John I hope you continue to improve please watch the sodium. Thanks so much for shari ... Read more
Melinda Donahue My appointment got changed to 7-16 due to a cancellation. 
Nurses illustrate EKG rhythms with dance moves.
https://www.facebook.com/share/r/15ijc6xQHS/
https://www.facebook.com/share/r/15ijc6xQHS/
Just two chambers trying to vibe… 🫠🫀 #EKG #cardiac #nursingnotes #nursinghumor #nclexprep #cardiacnursing #futurenurse #RN.
Fidel Martínez Ruizgot a new guestbook post
2 days ago
Kimberly Eisenhut, Susan Lynn, Rose Madura reacted to this
Richard Munson writes, "Fidel, this ones for you"
Fidel Martínez Ruiz Good night, here 23.03 p.m. and trying to sleep at 100 F .
Richard Munson They must have a.c in spain. And thats no toro.
Fidel Martínez Ruiz I prefer fresh air more than conditioning and free "toros", but running on the field. Anyway, spanis... Read more
Marie Myers You guys are so funny!
Fidel Martínez Ruiz And you Marie, so kind
Richard Munson I have never met a bull ,only spread a bunch but i am told they can be quite ornery. Cannot say i am ... Read more
Fidel Martínez Ruiz writes, "... Read more
Richard Munson You brought back fond 3 dog night memories of a past employee god rest his soul and his name was jere ... Read more
Fidel Martínez Ruiz 👍🍻
Hi Guys. I live in Australia and I am having my mitral valve hopefully repaired or at worst replaced in a couple of months. I go through stages of positivity ...Read more
Ana Brusso Dear Shaun, welcome to our site. If you read our posts you can tell we have all gone through the stag ... Read more
Rose Madura My friend, Ana, gives food advice. Try to remember that the odds are in your favor. For me, doing a ... Read more
Glenn Tremper I'm on the same journey, Shaun. I appreciate the insights of Ana, Rose and John.
Fidel Martínez Ruiz Hi Shaun, I agree with former insights, and add that you try to arrive into the surgery with a good ... Read more
Richard Munson I like the fish
Ana Brusso Thank you Richard 😂
Richard Munson Thats an aussie fish, i prefer swedish fish
Susan Lynn The worst part is waiting for game day! I didn't find any part of the surgery or recovery more chal ... Read more
Shaun Bloodworth Thanks Guys and I will update as I proceed in this journey. I am having an invasive angiogram in 2 w ... Read more
Robert Miller It looks like you did all your research. Make sure you read the learning center on this website. The ... Read more
Check out the new edits to 'My Story' page by clicking here.
Check out the new edits to 'My Story' page by clicking here.
Hello All!
I thought I was doing well, had mitral valve repair in January 2024. My echo in May 2024 showed trace regurgitation. Just got another echo ...Read more
I thought I was doing well, had mitral valve repair in January 2024. My echo in May 2024 showed trace regurgitation. Just got another echo ...Read more
Rose Madura Michele, it's easy for me to say be don't assume the worst. It could be that they will watch it for ... Read more
Robert Miller I can very much relate. If you want to discuss, you can reach me at hufaunder at yahoo dot com. I end ... Read more
J Alexander Lassally It could be an issue with the chords slipping (chords are tightened /adjusted in this surgery approac ... Read more
Michele Renee Thank you everyone!! I really appreciate it! Rose, you’re absolutely right about how the echo technician reads it! I’m actually sending everything to the surgeons nurse practitioner so they can review it. I know in the past the reads have been different. My cardiologist is at UCSD and my surgeon is at Cedar. My original cardiologist retired, so I’m seeing someone new to me on the 15th!
Just scared of the chances of another surgery, the first one was a lot!
Robert and J thank you so much! I will keep you updated and let you know what I hear! Robert I may reach out to you if a second one is discussed!
... Read more
Just scared of the chances of another surgery, the first one was a lot!
Robert and J thank you so much! I will keep you updated and let you know what I hear! Robert I may reach out to you if a second one is discussed!
... Read more
Ready to Join Our Community? It’s Free!
Check out the new edits to 'My Story' page by clicking here.
Check out the new edits to 'My Story' page by clicking here.
Corey Potter Hello Ben! Thank you for reaching out. Glad to hear your past the most important part (surgery) an ... Read more
Get the latest medical insights and patient updates from our award-winning newsletter.
Check out the new edits to 'My Story' page by clicking here.
Check out the new edits to 'My Story' page by clicking here.
Check out the new edits to 'My Story' page by clicking here.
Check out the new edits to 'My Story' page by clicking here.
Richard Munson writes, "Regarding the best dog breed for fidel in spain is probably not a sled dog of any breed. We have had a few and they all preferred winter over summer. Heavy ...Read more
Fidel Martínez Ruiz Yes, Richard, I play guitar as amateur, and remember "On the way back home" by 3 Dog Night. It was t... Read more
Richard Munson And yes they still perform. “ joy to the world”
Fidel Martínez Ruiz Great lyrics and very lively music.
Richard Munson Jeremiah was a bullfrog.
Marie Myers Was a good friend of mine.
Upcoming Surgeries
Corey Potter
Aortic Regurgitation
July 11, 2025
Tricia Casey
Mitral Regurgitation
September 1, 2025
Jonathan Calleja
Mitral Regurgitation
October 1, 2025
