Adam's Heart Valve Surgery Blog – Page 6

The patient stories in our Community never cease to amaze and inspire me. For example, this is the story of Andy Dial and David Seligman.

David Seligman & Andy Dial (Heart Valve Surgery Patients)

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The idea of a “one-and-done” operation to fix heart valve disease is beyond attractive. However, the reality is that many patients with valvular defects may need two or more operations throughout their lifetime. For that reason, it is critical that patients and their medical teams establish a long-term plan for the management of valvular diseases including aortic stenosis and mitral regurgitation.

To learn the advanced techniques that world-renowned surgeons use to best position aortic valve patients for multiple operations, I interviewed Dr. Eric Roselli, the Chief of Adult Cardiac Surgery at the Cleveland Clinic. As you may know, Dr. Roselli is a wonderful supporter of HeartValveSurgery.com who has performed successful operations on many patients in our community including Pamela Gregory and Tim Traub.

 
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Last week at the AATS Mitral Conclave in New York City, the world’s leading mitral valve experts connected for the first time since the COVID-19 pandemic began. This conference was downright amazing and I was lucky to attend.

I felt even more lucky when I had a special opportunity to interview Dr. David Adams, a Program Director of the AATS Mitral Conclave and the Cardiac Surgeon-in-Chief at the Mount Sinai Health System. So you know, Dr. Adams is a mitral valve guru who performs over 400 mitral valve surgeries per year. Watch this video with Dr. Adams to learn why the AATS Mitral Conclave is so important for you and your heart.

 
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At the recent AATS Mitral Conclave in New York City, the world’s leading mitral valve surgeons gathered to learn the newest and most trusted surgical techniques for the management and treatment of mitral valve disease. There were over 45 educational sessions at the AATS Mitral Conclave that included lectures, debates, case presentations and break-out sessions.

Dr. Steve Bolling at Medtronic’s Mitral Valve Wet Lab

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Yes!!! For the first time since COVID-19 began, the world’s leading mitral valve surgeons are connecting in-person at the AATS Mitral Conclave in New York City from May 4 to May 5. During this special event, over 1,000 healthcare professionals from 50 countries gather to discuss the latest advances for the management and treatment of mitral valve disease and related cardiac disorders including atrial fibrillation.

Dr. David Adams

 
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Given my experience with the Ross Procedure, I continue to get lots of great patient questions about this advanced form of aortic valve replacement.  Patients often ask me about the durability of the Ross Procedure, the life expectancy of the Ross Procedure, and what happens if a reoperation is needed in the future.

For that reason, I just interviewed Dr. Bill Brinkman, a leading cardiac surgeon at Baylor, Scott & White The Heart Hospital – Plano, about new research that his team just published about the Ross Procedure. Click here to see my video interview with Dr. Brinkman about new Ross Procedure research.

Thanks Dr. Brinkman & Baylor Scott & White The Heart Hospital – Plano!

Many thanks to Dr. Brinkman for taking the time to share his clinical experiences and research with our patient community.  And, many thanks to Baylor, Scott & White The Heart Hospital – Plano for taking such great care of heart valve surgery patients!

Keep on tickin!
Adam

[Update: Thanks to the incredible response from heart valve patients in our community, the enrollment in our TAVR Patient Experience Survey is now closed. To participate in future patient surveys, please sign up to my newsletter. That way, you will be the first to be notified about our patient surveys. Thanks!!!]

Can I ask you for a quick favor? To help future patients, I want to learn more about the experiences of aortic valve patients who already had transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) or are thinking about getting TAVR in the future.

That said, I would LOVE to hear your thoughts about TAVR! If you previously had TAVR or if you may get TAVR in the future, will you please take my new survey?

> Take the TAVR Patient Survey!

Keep on tickin,

Adam Pick
Patient Advocate

Our recent webinar, “Advances in Mitral Valve Therapy”, was fantastic!  Patients from all over the wold connected online for this educational event with Dr. Joanna Chikwe, Chair of Cardiac Surgery, and Dr. Dominic Emerson, Director of Robotic Cardiac Surgery, from Cedars-Sinai Medical Center.

You can now access all of the new medical insights shared during the webinar via a free eBook.

 
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It is downright wonderful to receive so many enthusiastic patient emails about “Mitral Valve Disease Awareness Week“.

First, I shared Howard’s story. This time, I am happy to share Mara Katz’s journey to a healthy heart.

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Within minutes of announcing the launch of Mitral Valve Awareness Disease Week, my inbox started to receive great patient stories in response to this global initiative.

For example, this email from Howard Powders really demonstrates the insidious nature of mitral valve disease. As you read Howard’s story, please consider that patients with severe mitral valve disease – who do not get treatment – have a mortality rate of 20% after one year and 50% after 5 years.

Howard & Erlinda Powders

 
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The health risks and concerns specific to mitral valve disease are downright scary.

How scary? Watch this video to find out why we’re launching a global campaign, known as “Mitral Valve Disease Awareness Week”, to raise awareness and encourage effective treatment of this deadly disease.

 
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There is a fundamental lack of awareness to mitral valve disease. In addition, mitral valve disease is significantly under-treated. Sadly, mitral valve disease is also deadly.

For these critical reasons, we are launching “Mitral Valve Disease Awareness Week” to raise awareness to this very debilitating and insidious type of heart disease.  In this video, Dr. Pavan Atluri, a leading mitral valve surgeon at Penn Medicine in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, shares important insights about the symptoms, the causes and the risks of mitral valve disease.

 
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There is “bad news” and “good news” specific to mitral valve disease treatment.  The bad news is that only 15% of mitral valve patients get treatment.  The good news is that mitral valve disease treatment is safe, effective and can restore normal life expectancy.

As this is Mitral Valve Disease Awareness Week, we want to help you become aware of mitral valve disease and the different types of treatments available to patients. For this reason, we just interviewed Dr. Joanna Chikwe, Chair of Cardiac Surgery at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles, California, to learn about the different therapeutic approaches for fixing a defective mitral valve.

 
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When patients learn they need mitral valve surgery, patients may become confused about their surgical options, timing the procedure, selecting their medical team, and developing a lifelong plan for the management of mitral valve disease.

During Mitral Valve Disease Awareness Week, we want to help patients better understand the important considerations for mitral valve therapy.  For that reason, I hosted a “Surgeon Roundtable” with Dr. Michael Acker and Dr. Michael Ibrahim, two leading mitral valve surgeons from Penn Medicine Heart and Vascular Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

 
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In support of Mitral Valve Disease Awareness Week, we hosted a live interactive webinar titled, “Advances in Mitral Valve Therapy”, with Dr. Joanna Chikwe, the Chair of Cardiac Surgery at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, Dr. Dominic Emerson, Director of Robotic Cardiac Surgery at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, and the patients in our community.  Here’s a playback of the webinar.

Keep Learning About Mitral Valve Disease

As part of Mitral Valve Disease Awareness Week, we’re sharing new information to educate you about the management and the treatment of mitral valve disease including:

• Transcatheter Mitral Valve Surgery: What Should Patients Know?
• Surgeon Q&A: Recovery from Mitral Valve Surgery
• Mitral Valve Disease Awareness Week Educational Microsite

Keep on tickin!
Adam

Earlier in Mitral Valve Disease Awareness Week, we shared the “Top 5 Considerations for Mitral Valve Surgery Patients” which addressed the use of new transcatheter mitral valve therapies for non-invasive mitral valve repair and mitral valve replacement operations.  These mitral valve therapies require no incision to the patient’s chest and no use of the heart-lung machine.

To learn more about these next-generation therapies for the treatment of mitral valve disease, we interviewed Dr. Howard Herrmann, a leading interventional cardiologist from Penn Medicine in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

 
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During the past 20 years, the patient experience following mitral valve surgery has greatly improved.  Minimally-invasive techniques, new surgical protocols,  and the use of nerve blocks have greatly enhanced recovery.  Still, patients often wonder, “What should I expect during the recovery from mitral valve surgery?”

To answer this question during Mitral Valve Disease Awareness Week, we interviewed Dr. Dominic Emerson, Surgical Co-Director of the Cardiac Surgery Intensive Care Unit at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles, California.

 
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So far, during Mitral Valve Disease Awareness Week, we’ve focused on the management and the treatment of isolated mitral valve disease. However, many patients with mitral valve disease are also diagnosed with related cardiac conditions including coronary artery disease, atrial fibrillation and aortic aneurysms.

To learn more about the advanced treatment of complex mitral valve and associated heart disease types, we interviewed Dr. Wilson Szeto, the Chief of Cardiovascular Surgery at Penn Presbyterian Medical Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

 
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Medical advances are rapidly transforming mitral valve disease therapy.  As a result, both surgical and transcatheter techniques are providing mitral valve patients better outcomes and better therapeutic experiences with less pain and discomfort.

For the last post of Mitral Valve Disease Awareness Week, we interviewed Dr. Joanna Chikwe, the Chair of Cardiac Surgery at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles, California.  Doctor Chikwe is a leading robotic mitral valve surgeon who has successfully treated many patients in our commnunity including Leila Saedi and Lisa Harrington.

 
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Dear Patients and Friends,

In 2009, we launched the Surgeon Finder to help people find and research patient-recommended heart valve surgeons. Since then, the Surgeon Finder has over 2 Million page views!

To help future patients… My question to you is, “If you already had heart valve surgery, would you recommend your surgeon?” This is a great opportunity to celebrate your surgeon by posting a review. Click Here to Post Your Surgeon Review!

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