Adam’s Heart Valve Surgery Blog

I just received this very interesting note from John Bryan, a heart valve patient. I share John’s story not to scare you but to educate you specific to the realities of valvular defects, heart valve replacement durability and cardiac monitoring.

John Bryan (Heart Valve Patient)

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What happened after David Herzhaft, an aortic valve patient from Idaho, had a successful Ross Procedure performed by Dr. Ismail El-Hamamsy at Mount Sinai in New York City?

To answer that question, here is a really fun patient success story as told by David.

David with Dr. Ismail El-Hamamsy

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I LOVE getting inspirational updates from heart patients all over the world.

This time, Richard Godbey shared a big milestone for him after transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR).

Richard Godbey (TAVR patient) with Son at Mount Whitney

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Great news! To educate patients, their families and friends, we just released the world’s first Heart Valve Chatbot powered by artificial intelligence. The Heart Valve Chatbot was created with the support of 100+ heart valve doctors and 1000s of patients.

Below is a quick video that describes the futuristic features of the Heart Valve Chatbot. After you watch the video, I would really appreciate it if you would use the Heart Valve Chatbot and provide your feedback.

>>> To test the Heart Valve Chatbot, simply click the “Blue Chat Icon” at the bottom-right section of this page. When you’re done using the Heart Valve Chatbot, please click the three vertical dots at the top of chatbot and select “End Chat” to complete the survey.

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Hearing from patients about their heart valve surgery journey is my favorite part of running this website.

This time, we get to learn the amazing success story of Edward Rutkowski, a patient who underwent robotic heart valve surgery 15 years ago.

Edward Rutkowski (Heart Valve Patient)

 
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How good can life be 10 years after successful heart valve surgery by Dr. Robert Saeid Farivar?

Thanks to Tammi Gunwall, a patient who recently celebrated her 10th heart valve anniversary, we know that life can be pretty darn great.

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The patients and family members in our community never cease to amaze me.

This time, John Berner, did something quite amazing.  To help educate himself, his wife (a heart valve patient), and our community, John took it upon himself to create a diagram that answers the very important question, “How does blood flow through your heart valves and your body?”

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During our recent webinar, “6 Expert Tips for Heart Valve Patients”, our expert panelists including Dr. Doug Johnston, Dr. Melissa Medina and Dr. Kevin Hodges of Northwestern Medicine got into a meaningful conversation about the 13 questions patients should ask their surgeons and heart teams before scheduling a procedure. (Click here to watch a video replay of this special webinar.)

 
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Are you planning to travel this spring or summer? If you are a transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) recipient, don’t be alarmed if you unexpectedly set off the airport security system.

Dottie One Hour After TAVR

 
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Truly amazing. I just heard another extraordinary patient success story from our community.

As many of you know, transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) is often referred to as one of the greatest “medical breakthroughs” in valvular therapy.  Using this minimally-invasive approach, cardiac surgeons and interventional cardiologists can replace a stenotic aortic valve without breaking the patient’s sternum or ribs.  However, the use of TAVR has been limited to the treatment of aortic stenosis, a narrow valve.  The utility of TAVR for aortic regurgitation (a leaky valve) has not received FDA-approval for the treatment of aortic regurgitation here in the United States.

Given the limited access to TAVR devices for aortic regurgitation, Linda Nolan, a patient with severe aortic regurgitation, had options.  Linda could get open heart surgery here in the US. Or, Linda could transform into medical tourist and go abroad for a new type of TAVR called the JenaValve.

Linda, John Sr. (husband), and John Jr. (son)

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I am excited to share that Dr. Gyu Gang, a leading heart valve surgeon at the Northwestern Medicine Bluhm Cardiovascular Institute just received his 200th patient review at HeartValveSurgery.com!

This is a wonderful accomplishment for Dr. Gang who provides advanced valvular therapies to patients at Central DuPage Hospital and Delnor Hospital in the western suburbs of Chicago.

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I’ve said it before and I look forward to saying it again… The patient success stories from the courageous members in our community are downright extraordinary.

This time, I am happy to share the story of Justin Chamblee, a heart valve patient from Georgia.

 
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In case you missed it… Earlier today, we had special access to the Ross Procedure Training Course taught by Dr. Vaughn Starnes and Dr. Craig Baker. As you may know, Dr. Starnes performed the Ross Procedure on me in 2005.  Nearly 20 years later, my heart is doing perfect and I do not take any medications or blood thinners.

This mazing event that was hosted by LifeNet Health, a special organization that provides the pulmonary donor valves used during the Ross Procedure.

Unfortunately, the video below was deleted following a Facebook Live policy change, effective February 19, 2025, which Facebook did not make us aware of.  Prior to deletion, that Facebook Live video had been viewed over 87,000 times.)

 
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As many of you know, I had a Ross Procedure performed by Dr. Vaughn Starnes in 2005.  Since then, nearly 20 years ago, I have had no re-operations and I am not on any medications including blood thinners. While the Ross Procedure is not for everybody, I am getting many patient questions about this advanced form of aortic valve surgery given new research about patients who are experiencing (i) a return to normal life expectancy and (ii) long-term durability going out to the third post-operative decade.

For this reason, I am happy to announce that we just launched a new “Ross Procedure Patient Education Center” that was designed to educate patients about the Ross Procedure. Thankfully, many world-renowned Ross Procedure surgeons helped me build this educational resource.

Click here to experience the new Ross Procedure Patient Education Center.

 
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Ready to experience something extraordinary?

This Friday, March 7, I will attend a live Ross Procedure Training Course taught by Dr. Vaughn Starnes, the Surgeon-in-Chief at Keck Medicine of USC.  (So you know, Dr. Starnes performed a Ross Procedure on me in 2005.  Since then, nearly 20 years later, my heart is perfect. I’ve had no re-operations. I am not on any medications or blood thinners. And, I am SCUBA diving again with my son.)

Here’s the fun part… Using Facebook Live, I’m going to broadcast several key moments from Dr. Starnes’ upcoming training that will include a “Wet Lab” in which cardiac surgeons practice the Ross Procedure using an actual pig heart.

To join me for this live event at Facebook, click here at 3pm EST on Friday, March 7.

 
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The patient stories in our community touch, move and inspire me.  This time, it was the wonderful patient success story of Kevin Hornaday that got me.  So you know, Kevin has been a lifelong cardiac patient who was born a cardiac electrical issue.  Then, at 12 years of age, his heart broke in a different way when his mother suddenly passed away to a suspected aortic aneurysm.

Dr. Judson Williams, Kevin Hornaday and the WakeMed Cardiac Rehab Team

 
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Great news!

During our recent webinar, “6 Expert Tips for Heart Valve Patients”, I received 45 patient questions that we did not have time to answer during the live event.

Imagine my surprise (and thankfulness) when Dr. Doug Johnston, Chief of Cardiac Surgery at Northwestern Medicine and a featured speaker of the webinar, typed up answers to each patient question and asked me to post them to help educate our patient community.

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Today, on Heart Valve Disease Awareness Day, let’s raise awareness to this under-diagnosed disease and celebrate the life-saving heart valve surgery of Daphine, a courageous 12-year old girl from Uganda!

Dr. Eric Roselli, Daphine and Me

 
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[Update: Great news! Our patient webinar, “6 Expert Tips for Heart Valve Patients” with Dr. Johnston, Dr. Medina and Dr. Hodges was fantastic. You can watch a video playback of the webinar below or at YouTube. You can also download a free eBook of the “6 Expert Tips for Heart Valve Patients” webinar at this link.]

I’m excited to announce that our LIVE and FREE patient education events continue today, Thursday, February 20th, at 6pm EST, with a special webinar, “6 Expert Tips for Heart Valve Patients”.  The featured speakers are world-renowned heart valve experts including Dr. Doug Johnston, Dr. Melissa Medina and Dr. Kevin Hodges from Northwestern Medicine.

Also… During the webinar, an interactive “Questions & Answers” session will enable you to ask the experts your questions about heart valve disease.

Keep on tickin!
Adam

As Heart Month continues to raise much-needed awareness to heart disease, I’m excited to be in Chicago today for a special celebration of the 20th Anniversary of the Bluhm Cardiovascular Institute at Northwestern Medicine in Chicago, Illinois.

Many of you know that Northwestern Medicine has provided extraordinary outcomes for over 700 patients of the HeartValveSurgery.com community. Here is a video I just posted from the party with world-renowned heart valve experts and their patients.

 
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