Adam's Heart Valve Surgery Blog – Page 52

As many of you know, Barbara Walters had heart valve surgery in May due to severe aortic stenosis.

Like many patients, Barbara has been rather private about her recovery and the details of her aortic valve replacement surgery. While I continue to receive patient emails requesting her surgeon’s name and valve replacement choice (tissue, mechanical or homograft), I often reply with, “Sorry, I don’t have anything new to share since my last update.”

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At 92, Kato Pomer recently became one of the oldest, highest-risk patients to receive the MitraClip, a new minimally invasive treatment for severe mitral regurgitation, at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center.

Kato Pomer, 92, Mitral Valve Repair Patient

Recently, I was fortunate to meet and interview the psychiatrist, the teacher and the artist at her home in Los Angeles, California. Considering the widespread interest in the MitraClip and Kato’s unique story, I thought you might like to review the highlights of my interview with her.

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I just received a question about tricuspid valve surgery from Eva. She writes, “Adam – Can tricuspid valves be as easily repaired as mitral valves?”

To help answer Eva’s question, I just found a great video.

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In a very short time, Heart Valve Journals has become an online epicenter of patient-to-patient communication specific to heart valve surgery. Using this free Internet tool, patients can share their experiences while engaging in meaningful discussions with other patients around the world.

Ros Hernmarck – Mitral Valve Repair Patient

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Over the years, I have received many patient and caregiver requests for paperback copies of my book from countries including Belgium, Canada, Mexico, Brazil, Finland, Germany, Japan, Chile, Singapore, South Africa, New Zealand and more.

Paperback Copies Go Global!

Unfortunately, I faced a few technical and shipping challenges finding an affordable way to send the book to other countries. For that reason, I have traditionally offered international readers an eBook version of The Patient’s Guide To Heart Valve Surgery.

However, that officially changed today!

Thanks to Andy, my programmer, and the United States Postal Service, my book can be sent to over 150 countries using an automated payment and mailing service. All international packages will be sent using Global Priority Mail and should reach most countries within 4-8 days.

If you have any interest in reading a paperback copy of the book, please click here to order your copy. A few books just went out to Canada, England, Ireland, Australia and Kenya.

I hope this helps all the international patients and caregivers out there!

Keep on tickin!
Adam

I just received a very interesting question from Nina about robotic heart valve repair and the heart-lung machine (also known as the “pump”).

Heart-Lung Machine Diagram

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In case you missed the Monday edition of “The View”, it was announced that Barbara Walters will be having heart valve replacement surgery sometime this week.

Although Walters knew of her upcoming heart valve surgery for sometime, her co-hosts on The View (Whoopi Goldberg, Elisabeth Hasselbeck, Joy Behar and Sherri Shephard) received the news Monday morning — shortly before viewers did.

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Ted just sent me a very appropriate question about mitral valve stenosis.

He writes, “Adam – I’ll be going in for mitral valve surgery due to stenosis next month. I’m doing my best to cope with the reality of open heart surgery. Quick question… Do you know what mitral valve stenosis looks like? Thanks for everything, Ted”

Mitral Valve Stenosis – Calcified Leaflets

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Ethan, my one-year old son, wants to say “Happy Mother’s Day!” to all the moms and grandmas!!!

Robyn, my wife, and I also want to wish the moms a very special day. 🙂

Happy Mother’s Day!

Ethan, Robyn and Adam

Sam Swerdlow, a recent aortic valve replacement patient from Oregon, just sent me this incredibly innovative and thoughtful video. I hope you enjoy it and remember to… embrace life.

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Have a great weekend!

Keep on tickin!
Adam

I was just surfing the Internet when I came across a furry teddy bear designed for… Yes, you guessed it…. Recovering open heart surgery patients.

After rubbing my eyes (and shaking my head a bit), I then noticed the teddy bear had a little zipper on his chest that opened to reveal a stitched heart.

On one hand, I thought, “Seriously? That can’t be real.” Then, when I noticed the price tag, I knew for sure this fluffy creature was definitely very real.

It turns out that the Mended Heart Bear is part of a line of get-well bears from Bummer Bears. This company makes teddy bears for patients recovering from broken bones, appendix removals and heart surgery.

What will they think of next?

Keep on tickin!
Adam

I just received a great question from Mark that relates to cardiac depression after heart valve surgery.

Mark writes, “Adam – Thanks for your book and website. It’s pretty amazing what you have done for so many patients who need heart valve surgery. As for my question, I am nine weeks post-surgery. I feel like my mental health is declining due to the operation (and other family issues). I’m having more bad days than good days. I’m curious… How long were you in cardiac depression? Thanks, Mark”

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In response to our recent discussions about the progression of heart valve stenosis and rheumatic heart valve disease, I have received several emails about the anatomy of the heart and the anatomy of our heart valves. Most of these inquiries have come from patients recently diagnosed with some form of severe valvular disorder.

Interactive Heart Anatomy Tool

To help those patients (and perhaps you) learn more about human heart anatomy, you may want to visit www.MyHeartValveChoice.com. This website, which officially launched last week, contains an interactive section that describes heart anatomy and helps answer three key questions for patients and caregivers:

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In 2009, the global news wires were filled with stories about public figures undergoing heart valve surgery. As you might recall, Robin Williams, Barbara Bush, Ed Koch, Elizabeth Taylor and many other well-known people had heart valve repair or heart valve replacement surgery last year.

Bob Uecker – Heart Valve Surgery Patient

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I just received an interesting question from Frank about rheumatic heart disease and heart valve surgery.

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Hi everybody!

I wanted you to know that our Heart Valve Surgeon Database is continuing to grow and grow and grow. The directory now has over 500 surgeon profiles from 25 different countries. Not only is the database expanding, but it is really helping patients search for, learn about and contact trusted heart valve surgeons around the world.

Also, I just added a new search feature for patients. Several patients require bloodless surgery for personal and/or religious reasons. That said, I created a bloodless criteria on the main search page.

HOWEVER, PLEASE NOTE… We still need your help with this database!!! If you have had heart valve surgery, please consider contributing a surgeon profile to the directory. It only takes 5 minutes to complete the online form. Can you help?

To add your surgeon profile, please click here.

In advance, thanks for taking the time to help future patients and caregivers!

Keep on tickin!
Adam

I just came across a fantastic email from Dr. Richard Schmidt which touches on the unique, patient process of healing. As you can read below, Dr. Schmidt recently had double heart valve repair and is anxiously awaiting a fully healed sternum to resume his life passions. Here is what Richard wrote to me:

Dr. Richard Schmidt, 66, Recently Had Aortic & Mitral Valve Repair

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The consolidation trend within the heart valve industry continued yesterday as ATS Medical was purchased by Medtronic in a cash deal valued at $350 million. So you know, that is a 54% premium to ATS’ market capitalization on Wednesday. As a result, ATS’s stock soared $2.59 to $4.00.

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Emma just emailed me an interesting question about aortic valve stenosis and the rate at which this form of heart valve disease progresses.

Aortic Valve Stenosis – Narrow Heart Valve

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Earlier this week, I spoke with Dr. Giovanni Ciuffo, a minimally invasive and bloodless heart surgery specialist, at Mount Sinai Hospital in New York. (As you may remember, Dr. Ciuffo wrote “Aortic Stenosis… The Neglected Child”.)

During our discussion, Dr. Ciuffo shared several clinical insights about traditional, median sternotomy approaches, as well as, minimally invasive procedures (e.g. mini-thoracotomy). After our discussion, Dr. Ciuffo forwarded me an article he recently published titled, “Scarless Heart Valve Surgery For Women”.

Heart Surgery Scar From Traditional Median Sternotomy

As I reviewed Dr. Giuffo’s article, I found the article to be full of interesting and educational information — especially for woman. That said, here are the highlights from this article:

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