Aortic Valve Repair Blog

By Adam Pick

Michigan Basketball Superstar, Juwan Howard, Gets Aortic Valve and Anuerysm Surgery

Written By: Adam Pick, Patient Advocate, Author & Website Founder
Published: September 16, 2023

In case you missed the breaking news… Juwan Howard, Michigan basketball coach and former NBA all-star, just announced that he had successful aortic valve and aneurysm surgery by Dr. Himanshu Patel at University of Michigan Health in Ann Arbor, Michigan.

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“Can I Get A Safe Minimally-Invasive Aortic Valve Repair?” asks Peter

Written By: Adam Pick, Patient Advocate, Author & Website Founder
Published: August 17, 2023

I just received a great question from Peter who asked me, “I was diagnosed with aortic valve regurgitation. Can this procedure be done safely using minimally invasive techniques? What questions should I ask to figure out if the surgeon has enough experience and expertise?”

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Aortic Valve Reconstruction: Patient Advantages for Keeping Your Own Tissue

Written By: Adam Pick, Patient Advocate, Author & Website Founder
Published: October 27, 2022

Not all patients with aortic valve disease need a mechanical or biological valve replacement.  Let me repeat that… Not all patients with aortic stenosis or aortic regurgitation need a mechanical or biological valve replacement.

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What Should Aortic Regurgitation Patients Know About The New HAART Annuloplasty Ring?

By Adam Pick on April 3, 2019

There has been A LOT of discussion lately about the success of the TAVR clinical trial for low-risk patients with aortic stenosis.

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Surgeon Q&A: What Should Patients Know About Aortic Regurgitation?

By Adam Pick on January 17, 2019

Over the past several months, I’ve noticed a steady rise in the number of patients at the HeartValveSurgery.com community who are diagnosed with aortic regurgitation.   That said, I wanted to create new educational resource to help patients with a leaking aortic valve.

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Is Aortic Valve Repair A New Global Phenomenon?

By Adam Pick on November 7, 2017

Together, we’ve learned lots about the advantages of mitral valve repair procedures which include long-term durability and freedom from re-operation.  In the process, I’ve attended wonderful mitral valve conferences and I’ve even gone inside live surgeon workshops dedicated to teaching best practices for mitral valve repair.

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Surgeon Q&A: Aortic Valve Repair & Valve Sparing Aortic Root Replacement with Dr. Ali Khoynezhad

By Adam Pick on March 25, 2014

Together, we have learned about many different types of surgical procedures used to treat heart valve disease and related cardiac disorders including coronary artery disease, atrial fibrillation and aortic aneurysms.

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“A New Trend To Aortic Vave Repair Surgery?” with Dr. Bavaria

By Adam Pick on April 19, 2013

In the past, I’ve filled this blog with hundreds of stories about mitral valve repair procedures. However, over the past 12 months, I have started to hear and report about aortic valve repair surgery — from patients and physicians.

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“What Are The Key Indicators For Aortic Valve Repair Vs. Aortic Valve Replacement?” By Dr. Lars Svensson

By Adam Pick on February 20, 2011

Talk about a great coincidence… Just a few minutes after receiving this patient question, Dr. Lars Svensson — the Director of the Aorta Center at the Cleveland Clinic —  walked up to my booth at the 47th annual Society of Thoracic Surgeons meeting. That said, here is Dr. Svensson’s response to the question, “What are the key indicators that a diseased aortic valve can be repaired not replaced?”

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