{"id":41516,"date":"2025-06-07T06:00:51","date_gmt":"2025-06-07T11:00:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.heart-valve-surgery.com\/heart-surgery-blog\/?p=41516"},"modified":"2025-06-08T11:09:19","modified_gmt":"2025-06-08T16:09:19","slug":"raymond-singer-md-patient-interview","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.heart-valve-surgery.com\/heart-surgery-blog\/2025\/06\/07\/raymond-singer-md-patient-interview\/","title":{"rendered":"Patient Q&#038;A: 4 Days After Jim&#8217;s Mitral Valve Repair"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>When Jim Makovetz moved to East Norrtion, Pennsylvania in July 2024, he began feeling unwell. After visiting a local urgent care, Jim learned that he had high blood pressure. Then, it was recommended that Jim get <a href=\"https:\/\/www.heart-valve-surgery.com\/heart-surgery-blog\/2009\/09\/05\/what-happens-during-a-transesophageal-echocardiogram\/\">a transesophageal echocardiogram<\/a>. The tests revealed severe mitral valve regurgitation due to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.heart-valve-surgery.com\/barlows-disease-syndrome-mitral.php\">Barlow\u2019s syndrome<\/a>, a condition Jim had no noticeable symptoms of at the time.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\" data-start=\"0\" data-end=\"457\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"YouTube video player\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/r4nGQ34PdRo?rel=0?si=f5-W8iel6FnZF23H\" width=\"560\" height=\"315\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<br \/>\n<!--more--><\/p>\n<p>Given the severity of this dangerous and potentially life-threatening disease, Jim was referred to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.heart-valve-surgery.com\/surgeons\/dr-Raymond-Singer-East+Norriton-Pennsylvania.php\">Dr. Raymond Singer<\/a>, who performed a successful bileaflet mitral valve repair.\u00a0 Although the first day after surgery was tough, Jim quickly began to feel better, especially after the chest tubes were removed.<\/p>\n<p>As part of the procedure, Dr. Singer also placed a clip on Jim\u2019s left atrial appendage to reduce the risk of stroke if <a href=\"https:\/\/www.heart-valve-surgery.com\/atrial-fibrillation\/\">atrial fibrillation<\/a> were to develop in the future. Jim described the overall recovery as smoother than expected, with only mild discomfort and a few mobility adjustments during the early recovery.<\/p>\n<p>Jim praised the care he received at Jefferson Einstein Montgomery Hospital, calling it &#8220;phenomenal&#8221;. Despite the stress of finding new doctors after relocating, his research led him to Dr. Singer\u2019s highly regarded team. Now, recovering well with a repaired mitral valve and added protection against future heart rhythm issues, Jim is ready to return home and resume his normal routine.<\/p>\n<p>Great job to Dr. Singer and the entire team at Jefferson Health Montgomery Hospital!<\/p>\n<p>Related Links:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.heart-valve-surgery.com\/surgeons\/dr-Raymond-Singer-East+Norriton-Pennsylvania.php\">See Dr. Singer&#8217;s Interactive Surgeon Profile<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.heart-valve-surgery.com\/heart-surgery-blog\/2023\/03\/15\/social-media-raymond-singer-md\/\">Doctor Q&amp;A: How Social Media Helps My Heart Surgery Patients with Dr. Raymond Singer<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.heart-valve-surgery.com\/barlows-disease-syndrome-mitral.php\">Barlow&#8217;s Mitral Valve Syndrome: 6 Facts to Know<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Keep on tickin&#8217; Jim!<br \/>\nAdam<\/p>\n<p>P.S. For the deaf and hard of hearing, I have provided a written transcript of the video interview of Jim conducted by Dr. Singer.<\/p>\n<p>Dr. Raymond Singer: Good morning. Your name is?<\/p>\n<p>Jim Makovetz: I&#8217;m Jim Makovetz.<\/p>\n<p>Dr. Raymond Singer: We have your written verbal permission to tape you.<\/p>\n<p>Jim Makovetz: Yes, you do.<\/p>\n<p>Dr. Raymond Singer: And if I put it on my website or social media for educational purposes, that would be okay.<\/p>\n<p>Jim Makovetz: Absolutely.<\/p>\n<p>Dr. Raymond Singer: Now, you recently moved down to this area from my old stomping grounds up in the Lehigh Valley, correct?<\/p>\n<p>Jim Makovetz: That&#8217;s correct.<\/p>\n<p>Dr. Raymond Singer: You came down here and what happened.<\/p>\n<p>Jim Makovetz: In July, 2024, I felt horrible and went to a Patient First urgent care. I ended up having very high blood pressure. At the time, I had not transitioned all of my doctors. The recommendation from Patient First was to put me on Amlodipine. I was already on Lisinopril for my high blood pressure.<\/p>\n<p>Then, the doctor coordinated that with my primary care physician at Lehigh Valley Hospital at that time. \u00a0He said, \u201cYou haven&#8217;t had an echocardiogram in quite a while. Why don&#8217;t we get you one &#8211; especially with your blood pressure being so high. I had an echocardiogram and it was recommended that I see a cardiologist \u2013 which I did. He then recommended a transesophageal echocardiogram (TEE) to confirm the results.<\/p>\n<p>Dr. Raymond Singer: What did they find?<\/p>\n<p>Jim Makovetz: Severe mitral valve regurgitation.<\/p>\n<p>Dr. Raymond Singer: And both leaflets were prolapsed.<\/p>\n<p>Jim Makovetz: Yes.<\/p>\n<p>Dr. Raymond Singer: It was interesting. Did you have shortness of breath before surgery?<\/p>\n<p>Jim Makovetz: No, I had no symptoms.<\/p>\n<p>Dr. Raymond Singer: But you didn&#8217;t feel well.<\/p>\n<p>Jim Makovetz: That day I didn&#8217;t feel well.<\/p>\n<p>Dr. Raymond Singer: So overall it was a surprise to you?<\/p>\n<p>Jim Makovetz: Oh, absolutely.<\/p>\n<p>Dr. Raymond Singer: And it was really torrential mitral regurgitation. I mean, it was four plus on a scale of heart valve leakage that goes to four. And, your heart was enlarged.<\/p>\n<p>Jim Makovetz: Yes.<\/p>\n<p>Dr. Raymond Singer: Four days ago, we performed mitral valve bileaflet repair surgery. You have a syndrome known as Barlow&#8217;s syndrome, where both leaflets are thickened and prolapse. The repair looks beautiful. How do you feel?<\/p>\n<p>Jim Makovetz: I feel really good. The first day was tough. I will tell everybody I have some friends that have had other valve repairs and they warned me the first day is tough.<\/p>\n<p>Dr. Raymond Singer: Now, the second day we removed the chest tube drains.<\/p>\n<p>Jim Makovetz: Once as the tubes are removed, you do feel much better. So now I&#8217;m anxious to get home and just get back into my regular schedule.<\/p>\n<p>Dr. Raymond Singer: We&#8217;re going to send you home in the morning. And so now that it&#8217;s four days out and you&#8217;re getting ready to go home, do you have much pain now?<\/p>\n<p>Jim Makovetz: No, I really don&#8217;t. You know, a slight discomfort learning that you can&#8217;t use your arms when you stand up, when you get up off a chair or something.<\/p>\n<p>Dr. Raymond Singer: So it really is a quick recovery?<\/p>\n<p>Jim Makovetz: I think it is. I really do.<\/p>\n<p>Dr. Raymond Singer: We used the conventional approach through the sternum.<\/p>\n<p>Jim Makovetz: Yes.<\/p>\n<p>Dr. Raymond Singer: It is not as scary as people say. You know, of course, the first day &#8211; even a small incision, I had a little hernia type incision and I was complaining for a while too.<\/p>\n<p>Jim Makovetz: This is not my first major surgery.<\/p>\n<p>Dr. Raymond Singer: So have something to compare it to? But you&#8217;re doing well now and you&#8217;re going home.<\/p>\n<p>Jim Makovetz: Yes.<\/p>\n<p>Dr. Raymond Singer: With a beautifully repaired mitral valve. We also placed a clip on the left atrial appendage to prevent the risk of embolic stroke if you should develop atrial fibrillation, but you&#8217;re in normal sinus rhythm.<\/p>\n<p>Jim Makovetz: Sounds good.<\/p>\n<p>Dr. Raymond Singer: How is the care here at Jefferson Einstein Montgomery Hospital?<\/p>\n<p>Jim Makovetz: Oh, the care here is phenomenal. Moving to an area where you are. You have to pick a doctor and you have to pick a practice. We came here because number it&#8217;s very close to my home but also from the recommendation and I do my homework. I look at websites and I look at reviews. It\u2019s been excellent care.<\/p>\n<p>Dr. Raymond Singer: Good. Well, excellent. We enjoy taking care of you and congratulations. And, uh, it looks like the weather is going be good shape to go home on Memorial Day.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":41524,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[40],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-41516","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-patient-stories"],"acf":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.heart-valve-surgery.com\/heart-surgery-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/41516","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.heart-valve-surgery.com\/heart-surgery-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.heart-valve-surgery.com\/heart-surgery-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.heart-valve-surgery.com\/heart-surgery-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.heart-valve-surgery.com\/heart-surgery-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=41516"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.heart-valve-surgery.com\/heart-surgery-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/41516\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":41982,"href":"https:\/\/www.heart-valve-surgery.com\/heart-surgery-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/41516\/revisions\/41982"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.heart-valve-surgery.com\/heart-surgery-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/41524"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.heart-valve-surgery.com\/heart-surgery-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=41516"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.heart-valve-surgery.com\/heart-surgery-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=41516"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.heart-valve-surgery.com\/heart-surgery-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=41516"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}