Elizabeth's Guestbook

I personally think you have made a good decision, Elizabeth. You will find you will be treated like a Queen. I have never seen such attention and care in a hospital situation as I saw there, and, the spirit I saw in city on St Pat\'s Day was super impressive. I\'m not a heavy beer drinker...but I never saw so much green beer in all my life and what a parade and what crowds and, wow, all the green...I mean real doggone super spirit. Even a couple days after I was discharged and still there last March, I went out for a walk from the \"Guest House\" and found myself in Little Italy, decided I\'d better get my wife a little something to ease the trouble I would be in with the retired nurse lady because I knew I was way beyond in distance and time what she knew were my limits...shoot...I felt just fine and what are limits, anyway...., and I went into a little art/gift shop to find something. The ladies quized me about if I was out jogging or walking and finally I let \'em know it was a walk and I was the 2nd day from discharge...I suppose I was two or three miles from the hotel....damn if those ladies didn\'t then and there volunteer to give me a ride back to the hotel...what a friendly place. I expect I will get to ride my bike around Chautauqua Lake on Sunday, Aug 29th and will be going through Bemus Point going counter clockwise on my way to Westfield and Barcelona before going back down the other side of the lake. Enjoyed sitting on some little knoll there near the lake and listening to music being played on the water 5 years ago. It they still do it, will probably do it again Sunday evening after my ride. Hope the weather is as good as last time when I only got rained on a little bit. ...Barry on the mtn in NM

Hi Elizabeth, My husband has open-heart surgery this past February at Mayo Clinic in Rochester, MN. He had his ascending aorta and root replaced, as well as his aortic valve. He needed one bypass which was done during the same operation. The surgeon was Dr. Lyle Joyce, who is one of the best doctors we have ever dealt with. The care from Dr. Joyce, and the entire staff at Mayo could not have been better. The nursing care was phenomenal, and they also took care of me too. We always knew what was going on . . . there was no guessing, but the communication was excellent. I highly recommend Mayo.

Hi Elizabeth My brother had surgery at the Mayo Clenic,but, it was not cardiac. He flew there from Kona Hawaii.and they treated him great.His was not Cardiac,however,so a Doctor we would know wouldnt help. My son,Tony,had his 3rd aortic valve replacement.He was too sick to fly,and his HMO wouldnt pay for alternate hospitals,but, we used Cleveland clinic for his 2nd opinion.They were great and helped him make some hard decisions. God Bless and do well Linda

Hi Elizabeth, I second Barry\'s suggestion to look into Cleveland Clinic. I had an aortic valve replaced there last July and my outcome has been spectacular. I selected Dr. Mihaljevic and was pleased. There are many great surgeons there and the entire facility is first rate. You might want to check my journal. Ask any questions you may have! Anne Shannon

Hi Elizabeth, Welcome to Heart Valve Journals! To research surgeons, you may want to visit www.HeartValveSurgeons.com. I created this site to help patients find trusted surgeons. I hope that helps! Keep on tickin! Adam Pick

Elizabeth, I can tell you I did a bunch of research and my short list ended up being a doc at Columbia in NYC, one at the U of Maryland, and Cleveland Clinic (Mahaljevic or Gillinov. As I researced more it seemed the Cleveland Clinic may well be the best on the planet for these, as I now call it, valve jobs. I traveled all the way from Albuquerque, NM to Cleveland Clinic and think it was one of the best decisions of my life. BTW, I\'m originally from near Jamestown, a place called Frewsburg...lived there until I graduated from high school. Couldn\'t believe I had never heard of Cleveland Clinic (CC). I know everyone that has a positive outcome usually thinks their doc was the best... but if you check stats about CC you will find CC at the top. I wish I had been as close to Cleveland as you are. The stat I liked the most was they have a zero mortality rate for the mitral valve repair I had...and I knew they weren\'t gonna let that change with me. If you want to see my experiences with this, see my journal....Barry on the mtn in New Mexico