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David's Story: I Am Thankful for My Second Opinion

Written By: Adam Pick, Patient Advocate, Author & Website Founder
Published: August 26, 2025

I really enjoy getting to help patients from all over the world. This time, I was happy to support David Koskela, a patient who needed a second opinion to better understand the realities of his confusing diagnosis and disease progression. This is David's story in his own words.

David Says...

Here is what David wrote to me:

It all started about 10 years ago when, at age 62, during an annual physical my doctor spent extra stethoscope time listening to my heart. What was soon discovered after several more tests, was that I was born with a bicuspid aortic valve and it was the cause of the irregular sounding heartbeat. Thankfully though, it was not in need of medical intervention but would require annual echocardiograms to monitor its condition.

I've had annual echocardiograms since then showing the valve was still within specs. This past January though, a new problem was diagnosed during the echo; my mitral valve had developed severe regurgitation. With that result, a transesophageal echocardiogram and a heart catheterization were performed which confirmed the mitral valve issue and indicated no other issues. Subsequent appointments with my cardiologist and a surgeon provided a potential medical approach; repair the mitral valve and replace the aortic valve. Surgery was scheduled in about 4 weeks.

It's goes without saying that a whole lot of thinking goes on when contemplating this surgery. One reoccurring thought was, "Should I get a second opinion?" After a lot of thought, I did.

Second Opinions for Heart Valve Patients

Several years ago, a friend of mine had a successful similar surgery and it was performed at the University of Michigan Cardiovascular Center by Dr. Steven Bolling, so I contacted his office. Through electronic wizardry they immediately had my previous test results and diagnosis. In a short time, I was meeting with Dr. Bolling. He indicated that yes, I needed to have the mitral valve repaired but the aortic valve didn't need attention at this time. He suggested I leave it alone as it has been functioning for 72 years and has a good chance of never needing medical intervention. After considering the two options, and taking into consideration Dr. Bolling's extensive experience with mitral valve surgery, I chose to continue with him and surgery was scheduled.

Surgery lasted about 6 hours in total. Repairs were made to the mitral valve and the tricuspid valve was found to need some attention also. I spent several days in the cardiac care ICU and then a couple days in a step-down unit before heading home.

I'm now 3 weeks past surgery. I had really prepared myself for an uncomfortable healing process. But, I'm glad to say it has gone much better than expected. I had some pretty good pain the first day after surgery but since then I've had some discomfort but very little pain. I believe I owe this to Dr. Bolling, his staff and the numerous nurses and professionals I came in contact with during my hospital stay. They were, and continue in my follow up, to be just wonderful. -- David Koskela

Written by Adam Pick - Patient & Website Founder

Adam Pick is a heart valve patient and author of The Patient's Guide To Heart Valve Surgery. In 2006, Adam founded HeartValveSurgery.com to educate and empower patients. This award-winning website has helped over 10 million people fight heart valve disease. Adam has been featured by the American Heart Association and Medical News Today.

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