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Upcoming Patient Surgeries
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On a happier note, my wonderful youngest son, Matthew is 20 today! He has been such a wonderful, sweet, kind, loving son, and am so grateful for him. Cannot believe it has been 20 year already. He is my baby, I also have a 39 year old daughter and 35 year old son.
Wishing everyone a happy, healthy 4th week


Continued prayers! And Happy Birthday to your son!

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

Check out the new edits to 'My Story' page by clicking here.

Post-operative AFib is a BIG PROBLEM that impacts up to 30% of heart surgery... Read More.
Getting the right-sized valve is imperative for achieving successful outcomes after aortic valve replacement.... Read More.
I think you are making the right choice going with Dr. Woo even if it's a bit less convenient. There are people flying from one coast to the other, for instance to get surgery from Dr. Gillinov (he is an expert in minimal invasive surgery). So travelling a bit further locally is a small price to pay for Dr. Castro's expertise and his excellent staff. Good luck with your surgery. You will be in good hands.
Btw, it was my mom that found Dr. Castro and this / @Adam 's forum. I searched for other forums but this one is by far the best for any heart surgery questions.
-Meredith"

So I guess I’ll be ...Read more
So I guess I’ll be hanging out on the deck by the fire pit and drinking protein smoothies again.


“I just went in for an annual check-up. After listening to my heart, my doctor told me I had a heart murmur. I never knew I had a heart murmur, and I didn’t know much about them. The images ... Read more.
“I just went in for an annual check-up. After listening to my heart, my doctor told me I had a heart murmur. I never knew I had a heart murmur, and I didn’t know much about them. The images showed that I had a severe mitral valve prolapse.
We made the decision, at the time, to keep an eye on it for a year because I had no symptoms. Based on my second echocardiogram, it was determined that my mitral valve prolapse had progressed, and it was time for surgery. Now, I am ecstatic to say that my wife and I just returned from a 10-day holiday in Saint Lucia which included four scuba dives.
Dr. Castillo-Sang gave me the confidence that I would be able to dive again, and he was 100% correct."
-- Gary Fabre, heart valve patient
I have been holding my own - my cardiologist says its best to take of this before your heart is compromised. He did put me on a blood thinner.
Any thoughts? Any and all comments are sincerely welcome
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).
Unfortunately, with heart valve disease, it’s always a matter of ‘when’ not ‘if.’ It’s not something that gets better without surgery.
Always feel free to get a second opinion from another cardiologist and/or surgeon. The doctors actually encourage it. And talk to them about all of your fears and concerns.
- 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.
- Once I hit 3-weeks post-surgery, it has been almost all good days.
- I’m now at 4-weeks and I’m feeling about 80% of normal. Every day I feel a little bit better than the day before. I restart working again tomorrow. The things I can’t do, I shouldn’t be doing yet anyway.
- In 2 weeks, I start cardiac rehab. They will get me running and cycling again. I’ve already set myself the goal of running a couple 5Ks and 10Ks next year. When I get to where I can run a 10K, I’ll know I’m back to where I was pre-surgery.
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
I am so happy you both are better
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.
The second issue was my blood pressure was all over the place. With a Ross Procedure, they want my post-op BP between 90 & 120 for a year while the pulmonary valve gets used to its new home on the aortic side. I kept swinging from the mid-80s to mid-130s depending on what they gave me. It took 5 days to figure out the right drug combo.
I’ve had to go back on diuretics and electrolytes twice since I was discharged because I’m still yo-yoing a gallon of water (7-8lbs over 4 days). I went off them again today. Hopefully I don’t have to go back on them again. I’m trying to be more conscious of my sodium intake this time to see if it helps.

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Hello! My name is Dr. Pedro Catarino and I am a cardiac surgeon having graduated from University of Oxford Medical School in 1994. To date, I have performed approximately 5,100 cardiac surgeries, of which more than 1,640 involved heart valve procedures. I regularly perform surgery at Smidt Heart Institute at Cedars-Sinai. Read more...
I believe my greatest strength is the depth and breadth of my experience. I have treated many patients and performed many procedures on all aspects of heart disease, but as my career has progressed I have increasingly focused on the aortic valve and aneurysms of the aorta which means that I have dealt with every issue in these areas. I also try to understand each patient’s individual situation, to really involve them in our joint decision making and then to tailor my advice and any procedure to their particular circumstances. A lot of patients with aortic disease do not need a procedure at the first presentation and we end up seeing each other over many years, so trust and rapport are essential to a productive relationship on both sides.
I had up days and down days pre-surgery for my aortic valve. Even ... Read more
I had up days and down days pre-surgery for my aortic valve. Eventually, I came to peace with it and did a lot of meditations before bed.
Post-surgery, the first 3 days I remember were very difficult but I got through them. The next two weeks were not as difficult with good and bad days. Since I got past the 3-week mark, most of my days have been very good. I’ll be going back to working from home at 27-days after surgery and I’m making plans for when I’m healthy enough to start running again.

Check out the new edits to 'My Story' page by clicking here.
Check out the new edits to 'My Story' page by clicking here.
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 and it’s showing mild to moderate regurgitation. Needless to say, I’m scared. I’m scared of another surgery and what this means?
I have to wait till July 15th for my doctors apt. But wondering if anyone has had a similar situation and what the outcome was?
I was hoping to be the 90% success rate but looks like those aren’t the cards I was handed. Just works as to how it went from trace to mild mod in a year?
good news is my heart is no longer enlarged or dilated everything is normal!
thank you
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!
thank you! So thankful for this blog and the comfort you all give! ❤️


Check out the new edits to 'My Story' page by clicking here.
Check out the new edits to 'My Story' page by clicking here.


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.

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Corey Potter
Aortic Regurgitation
July 11, 2025
Tricia Casey
Mitral Regurgitation
September 1, 2025
Jonathan Calleja
Mitral Regurgitation
October 1, 2025
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