Surgeon Spotlight: Dr. Marc Gillinov Receives 100 Patient Testimonials!
Written By: Adam Pick, Patient Advocate, Author & Website Founder
Published: June 5, 2023
I am excited and honored to announce that Dr. Marc Gillinov just received his 100th patient testimonial from patients in the HeartValveSurgery.com community!
Dr. Gillinov is the Chairman of the Department of Cardiothoracic Surgery at the Cleveland Clinic. He is one of the most committed, dedicated and patient-centric heart surgeons I know. So you know, Dr. Gillinov was one of the first surgeons to support and encourage the educational initiatives of HeartValveSurgery.com. I’ll never forget our first meeting when Dr. Gillinov said to me, “Adam, I really appreciate how you are helping patients. Education is critical for patients with heart valve disease.”
When it comes to treating heart valve disease, there is no doubt… Dr. Gillinov is a heart valve guru. During his career, Dr. Gillinov has performed over 5,000 heart valve procedures! In addition, Dr. Gillinov has worked on many clinical trials and Dr. Gillinov has helped develop many innovative medical devices for heart valve therapy and related cardiac conditions including atrial fibrillation.
Dr. Gillinov’s Patients Say…
Over the years, I have been fortunate to connect with many of Dr. Gillinov’s patients. I can not tell you how many times I have heard a patient say something like, “Dr. Gillinov is the absolute best. My heart is doing great. I feel great. Dr. Gillinov is such a nice and genuine man!”
To see exactly what patients are saying about Dr. Gillinov, here are a few testimonials from our community.
This is a special picture of three heart valve patients that went to Dr. Gillinov. That’s right! Those are the smiling faces of Lisa, Randy and Ginny who initially met in our online Community. Then, they each went to Dr. Gillinov at the Cleveland Clinic for heart valve surgery. Ultimately, Lisa, Randy and Ginny met in-person in Texas. Click here to see this amazing story.
Reflecting on her experience with Dr. Gillinov, Ginny posted, “My experience with Dr. Marc Gillinov and his entire team at the Cleveland Clinic could not have been better. He lives up to his reputation as one of the top mitral valve surgeons in the world. As well as being an incredibly gifted surgeon, he is also a man of compassion and character. He took a personal interest in me as a patient and gave me confidence going into my surgery. My mitral and tricuspid valves were successfully repaired, and a Maze Procedure was performed to address A-fib issues.”
Here is another extraordinary story about two more of Dr. Gillinov’s patients. That is Kathy Chelton, Carter Chelton (her son) and Dr. Gillinov. Yes, you guessed it. First, Kathy needed mitral valve repair surgery. Then, Carter needed mitral valve repair surgery. Both mom and son went to Dr. Gillinov. Amazing!! Click here to see Kathy and Carter’s story with Dr. Gillinov.
Kathy posted,”Dr. Gillinov was fantastic! I truly felt like he listened and took time to evaluate my case carefully to decide if it was time for my valve repair. Everything went well and I am doing great six years post-surgery! My son needed the same surgery. So, of course, we wanted Dr. Gillinov to do his as well.”
Ready for another Dr. Gillinov success story? You got it!
That’s Dr. Jeff Pirofsky from Arkansas who had mitral valve repair with Dr. Gillinov. In a post, Jeff shared, “I know I made the right choice with Dr. Marc Gillinov, MD. He was able to perform the repair without a sternotomy (also known as a thoracotomy). He did a great job. In fact, whenever I show my scar people say “Is that it?” expecting something else. I was back to work in less than two weeks and probably could have returned in one week but mom came to help take care of me. She was disappointed when there was no one to take care of.”
And yes… Here is Anita Devine, who had mitral valve repair with Dr. Gillinov. Anita posted, “Everything went smoothly, and the staff, including Dr. Gillinov, were amazed at how quickly my body healed. Dr. Gillinov stated that my initial recovery was two days ahead of most of his patients. My nurse practitioner called me her “WOW” patient. In total, I spent just 10 hours in intensive care and was discharged after only 3 days.”
Dr. Gillinov’s Passion for Patient Education
In addition to surgically fixing the heart valves of thousands of patients, Dr. Gillinov has helped HeartValveSurgery.com educate millions of people about heart valve disease. At conferences in Abu Dhabi, Chicago, Los Angeles, San Diego and New York City, Dr. Gillinov always finds time to answer patient questions about heart valve disease.
Here’s a recent video, Dr. Gillinov filmed with me at the Society of Thoracic Surgeons Conference about how he helps patients calm their fears before heart valve surgery.
In this video, Dr. Gillinov discusses why and how he uses a robot during mitral valve repair surgery.
Here is one of the first videos we filmed together about aortic stenosis. This video has been watched over 300,000 times.
Congratulations & Thanks Dr. Gillinov!
On behalf of our patient community, I’d like to extend a mighty “Congratulations!!!” to Dr. Gillinov and the entire team at the Cleveland Clinic. Together, you have made such a wonderful and tremendous impact on this community.
I also need to say a personal “Thank You!” to Dr. Gillinov. Since we first met in 2009, Dr. Gillinov has really rallied around my personal mission to educate and empower patients with heart valve disease. I’m so thrilled to celebrate and to share his extraordinary accomplishment with our community.
Keep on tickin’ Dr. Gillinov!
Adam
Written by Adam Pick
- Patient & Website Founder
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