Scott's Posts

After I had a CT scan to confirm a diagnosis of Pneumonia they had also found a 5 cm ascending aortic aneurysm. Wow what a shock! I took me about two month, a lot of research, conversation with some of the best surgeons in the county, to wrap my head around what I actual had. After two more CT scans, Cardiac Echo, Stress Test, and a Ct angiogram of the heart. I had a learned I also had a Bicuspid Aortic Valve. The decision had been made to do the surgery. The decision to do the the surgery was probably the hardest decision I have ever made in my life. The only way I could describe it to someone who has not gone through it would be to say its a lot having some one put a gun to your head to disarm the bomb in your chest. You want to stop my heart for three to five hours while you do what! And the recovery is how long? Thanks to the advice from a few of the best aortic and bicuspid valve repair surgeons in the county I had made my decision to have the surgery. This two surgeons were Dr. Lars Svensson of the Cleveland Clinic and Dr. Ali Khoynezhad of the Heart Institude at Cedars Sinai Hospital in Los Angeles. There are not many surgeons that will do an bicuspid valve repair surgery. Dr. Ali Khoynezhad did my surgery. There are other doctors and Cedars who have been doing this surgery longer but I believed Dr. Ali Khoynezhad to be a rising start and one of the best, which is what I was looking for. Comments form the hospital staff and my amazingly fast recover are a testament to this. I was in the ICU for about 24 hours Hospital for a total of 4.5 days and Today, 49 days after my surgery, I just walked a 5K.