Matthew's Guestbook

Hi Matthew, Hope your surgery went will today and you have a good recovery. My surgery date for Mitral valve regurgitation is scheduled for May 26, 2026. I'm curious what procedure was used for your repair and why. My surgeon is going to do a Mitral valve clip procedure using the Pascal device. Wishing you good health.
Dick Federmann

Hi Matthew, wishing you all the best for your surgery. I'm 6 weeks post op (mitral valve replacement). My friends who had open heart surgery were very encouraging before I went into hospital, but I wish they'd told me how tough the first week could be. Because I was quite fit and only 63, I thought I'd bounce back pretty quick. I wasn't mentally prepared for the first 2 days in intensive care unit. Some of the things I experienced were: very hard to breath (only able to take split second 'sips' of air for the first day); time warp - I thought I had dreamt/slept for hours but it was just a few minutes on the clock; weird dreams, repeating over and over. Your experience might be quite different. I just wish someone had told me about these things so I could have been better mentally prepared. I was very grateful for the whole medical team and hospital staff and also grateful to be discharged after a week, and able to go home. Each week I'm feeling a bit better, able to walk further, go out for dinner, feel more like my myself. I hope it all goes well for you.

Mathew, my name is Joel Kaplan.  I had a mitral valve repair surgery by Dr. Chikwe two years ago.  Like you, I am an avid hiker and I also am an advanced skier (skiing for about 53 years now) and offshore fisherman.  I also work out at the gym, typically 3 times per week.  My mitral valve disease, once detected, progressed rather rapidly, in just 10 months from early/moderate stage to severe.  I would die without intervention.  Long story short, I ultimately met with Dr. Chikwe, and my surgery was schedule for just 3 weeks later.  I had robotic assisted surgery at Cedars Sinai Hospital.  Dr. Chikwe is a phenomenal surgeon and also a genuine caring person.  Her surgical team, like Dr. Chikwe, is world class.  She is just the very best and I thank her every day for saving my life.  Her skillset is amongst the highest in the world, and in fact, she is highly renowned for her skills, globally.  Her genuine care for every patient, as a person, is just wonderful.  My stay in the hospital was surgery on Tuesday morning and released to go home on Friday morning.  Within a few weeks I was walking 2 miles, within 6 weeks or so I was hiking near normal levels.  I was soon back at fishing and pulling up 70 lb tuna and it was if I had never even had cardiac surgery.  The next winter my skiing was also as if I had never even had cardiac surgery.  I still am at it, at the gym.  To this day, other than a few minor scars, I would never know that I had undergone cardiac surgery.  I fully recommend that you see Dr. Chikwe.  She will be honest with you about everything.  If you are a good candidate for robotic assisted cardiac surgery, as I was, she will tell you so.  I love Johanna Chikwe, she is just the very best human being and cardiac surgeon.