Adam's Heart Valve Surgery Blog

This July, I will return to Mount Sinai Hospital in New York for open-heart surgery. It will not be my first time. It will not even be my first time on that particular operating table's lineage — the surgeons, the institution, the history all trace back to a summer nearly half a century ago, when I was fourteen years old and the biggest concern in my life was whether I'd make it to sleepaway camp.

Heart valve surgery can be a very trying and scary time.  Fortunately for most patients, such as those with a bicuspid aortic valve, one will generally have time to plan their surgery. Nevertheless, that extra time itself can add unforeseen complications.  This short monograph will share my experiences in the hopes it proves useful to other patients who might be in a similar situation.

During our recent patient webinar, “Long-Term Heart Valve Success,” Dr. Doug Johnston, Chief of Cardiac Surgery, and Dr. Anita Asgar, Chief of Interventional Cardiology, at Northwestern Medicine, shared important insights about new medical advances, innovative treatment strategies and lifetime planning for people with heart valve disease. The response from our community was extraordinary. You can now download the free eBook or watch the video playback for the "Long-Term Heart Valve Success" webinar at this link.

Great news! In connection with the rollout of HeartValveSurgery.com 6.0, I am excited to announce the launch of a new Instant Messenger designed exclusively to help patients and caregivers connect privately throughout their heart valve journeys.

Great news! I am excited to announce that University of Miami Cardiac and Vascular has become the newest sponsor of HeartValveSurgery.com!

Woo-Hoo!!!

We just launched the sixth generation of the HeartValveSurgery.com platform. As part of this global relaunch, I wanted to make several meaningful improvements to our online Community based on your feedback over the years. That said, here is video that describes the new Community features!

Video available online at:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xCytI2qnuq0

What Are The "Top 8" Community Updates?

As you will see, there are over 20 new updates to the Community. With that in mind, I'm excited to share the "Top 8" updates we've made.

Hi Everybody!!!

As part of our 20^th anniversary celebration, I'm pleased to share that HeartValveSurgery.com has taken a significant step forward in its evolution. This morning, we launched the sixth generation of our platform which we believe is the most advanced set of technologies for patient education, empowerment and connectivity.

Video available online at:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QYZzkt02uD0

[Update: The patient education webinar, "Long-Term Heart Valve Success", was extraordinary. You can now watch a video replay of the webinar on YouTube at this link. Or, you can watch the video playback below. You can also download our new free eBook, "Long-Term Heart Valve Success", at this link.]

What should you know about success planning for the lifetime management of heart valve disease? How are new medical advances, late-breaking research, and innovative treatment strategies impacting patients today and in the future?

Get answers to these important questions when Dr. Doug Johnston, Chief of Cardiac Surgery, and Dr. Anita Asgar, Chief of Interventional Cardiology, at Northwestern Medicine, join me for a LIVE and FREE patient webinar, "Long-Term Heart Valve Success", today, June 4, at 6pm EST.

Video available online at:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hmkweIzrCn8

We are excited and honored to announce that MemorialCare has joined the our community!

Dear Patients, Doctors & Friends,

OMG! I am overwhelmed by our community response to the "Ask Adam Anything" event at the 106th Annual Meeting of the American Association for Thoracic Surgery (AATS) in Chicago!

As you might recall… Last week, I posted a request for patient questions about heart valve disease management and treatment. Within minutes, my inbox started to fill-up with fascinating patient questions. Since then, I have received more than 200 questions. To prepare for the all-day video shoot at AATS, I spent Friday night going through the patient questions in preparation for "Ask Me Anything" session at AATS. Fyi, we invited 10 leading heart valve surgeons to join us for this special interactive event.

I just learned from Dr. Lars Svensson, Chief of the Heart, Vascular and Thoracic Institute at the Cleveland Clinic, that the 10-year results of the COMMENCE clinical trial just were shared at the American Association for Thoracic Surgery Conference that is happening right now in Chicago, Illinois. The COMMENCE trial is evaluating a new type of heart valve replacement, the INSPIRIS RESILIA, designed for enhanced durability using bovine tissue treated with an integrity preservation technology to resist calcification.

INSPIRIS RESILIA Tissue Valve Studied in COMMENCE Trial

This weekend, I will attend the American Association for Thoracic Surgery (AATS) conference in Chicago. If you didn't know, AATS is one of the most important annual gatherings of heart surgeons that was started in 1917.

At AATS, I am going to film a new "Ask Adam Anything" educational video series for patients. The expert panel of interviewees for this special event are world-renowned heart valve surgeons including Dr. Marc Gillinov (Cleveland Clinic), Dr. Patrick McCarthy (Northwestern Medicine), Dr. Bill Brinkman (Baylor Scott & White), Dr. Juan Pablo Umana (University of Miami), Dr. Eric Roselli (Cleveland Clinic), Dr. Ismail El-Hamamsy (Mount Sinai) and many more.

This is your opportunity to get real answers from leading heart valve surgeons. If you have a question about heart valve disease—whether it's about diagnosis, treatment options, recovery, or long-term care—you can ask it. I'll do my best to get your questions answered directly by one of these leading surgeons.

> Simply email your questions to adam@heartvalvesurgery.com and I'll take it from there.

I look forward to helping you get the answers you need!

Keep on tickin,
Adam

Thanks to all the wonderful support of this community and the HeartValveSurgery.com Charitable Giving Fund, I am thrilled to share an inspiring update about Naome, a bright and joyful 11-year-old girl from Lira, Uganda, who recently underwent a successful mitral valve replacement at the Uganda Heart Institute (UHI) in Mulago Hospital.

Naome at Uganda Heart Institute

I just received a fascinating email from Andy Roe, an American living in Japan with his wife and five children. In his email, Andy shared that his 11-month old son, Luka, was diagnosed with severe aortic stenosis. Like many parents, Andy researched the Ross Procedure, an advanced type of aortic valve replacement operation, that might help Luka. However, Andy was surprised to learn that human donor valve replacements, which are an essential part of the Ross Procedure, are not available in Japan. Instead, Luka would get a custom Polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) Valved Conduit.

Luka (11-Month Old Aortic Stenosis Patient)

Great news! The video playback from the Happy Heart Festival about the lifetime management of congenital heart disease was just posted. So you know, I was very fortunate to moderate this educational session with a remarkable panel from the The Guerin Family Congenital Heart Program at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center including Dr. Jay Pruetz (fetal cardiology), Dr. Melita Viegas (pediatric cardiac surgery), Dr. Stephen Nageotte (pediatric interventional cardiology), and Dr. Prashanth Venkatesh (adult congenital cardiology).

Video available online at:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uNLB4vzuo1k

Listening to these experts share insights about how Cedars-Sinai supports patients from diagnosis through adulthood — across Guerin Children's and the Smidt Heart Institute — was truly eye-opening. The conversation reinforced how rapidly congenital heart care is evolving and how coordinated, lifelong management is transforming outcomes for patients and families.

Related Links:

• Learn About The Guerin Family Congenital Heart Program at Cedars-Sinai

• Patient Webinar: Lifetime Management of Congenital Pulmonary Valve Disease

• Happy Heart Festival: A Day of Hope and Joy

Keep on tickin!
Adam

Great news! I am thrilled to share that Adventist Health St. Helena has become the newest sponsor of HeartValveSurgery.com!

In case you missed it... The world's first robotic TAVR explantation procedure was just performed by Dr. Vinay Badhwar at WVU Heart and Vascular Institute. Watch this video interview with Dr. Badhwar to discover how this groundbreaking innovation may redefine the approach to complex TAVR explants and aortic valve reoperations.

Video available online at:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q9Ur7IH3Ck0

Many thanks to Dr. Vinay Badhwar and his team for educating our patient community about robotic TAVR explants!

Related Links:

• TAVR Explants and the Lifetime Management of Aortic Stenosis

• Hannah's TAVR Explant: From Palliative Care to Life-Saving Miracle

Keep on tickin!
Adam

I am thrilled to share that Atlantic Health has become the newest sponsor of HeartValveSurgery.com!

In case you missed it... Daniel Neeson, the 29-year-old son of actor Liam Neeson, just revealed that he underwent heart surgery to treat a congenital heart valve defect known as bicuspid aortic valve (BAV). As you may know, I was unexpectedly diagnosed with a bicuspid aortic valve which led to my Ross Procedure over 20 years ago.

Liam Neeson and Daniel Neeson After Surgery

Today was different. Today was special. Today was something I had never experienced before. Thanks to the incredible teams at Camp del Corazon, Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, and Edwards Lifesciences, I had the honor of attending the Happy Heart Festival — a powerful celebration dedicated to children and families living with congenital heart disease. From the moment the event began, it was clear this was more than a gathering. It was a community coming together to celebrate strength, resilience, and possibility.