Richard's Guestbook

Hi Richard, I am having a mitral valve repair on November 26th at the Cleveland Clinic. My surgeon believes he will be doing a minimally invasive robotic procedure. I'm 49 years old and in pretty good shape. I work out 4 days a week. I'm very stressed and anxious about the surgery. Anything you can say that might make me feel better?

You got this Richard! Put your fate in the hands of your surgeon & hospital and let go. Visualize a successful surgery and hospital stay and distract distract distract your mind until then. Know we will be thinking of you and are here for you.

You got this Richard! Put your fate in the hands of your surgeon & hospital and let go. Visualize a successful surgery and hospital stay and distract distract distract your mind until then. Know we will be thinking of you and are here for you.

Richard, Best wishes on your upcoming surgery. You are making all good decisions! I had a somewhat similar situation as yours. You can do this. I just had my repair 5 days ago and I'm not gonna lie, it was tough at first. Now recovery is already improving. My best advice is to keep up on the pain meds. Even if you think you are ok. The better you feel the more mobile you will feel and the sooner you will heal. I'll be thinking of you ♥️

had mitral valve repair with sternotomy ,it was a bit uncomfortable after the operation but thats is all really just 3 days in Hospital in the UK and kind support from my wife,but like others have mentioned high volume Surgeon is the most important thing for Mitral repair i heard a top mitral Valve Surgeon in the UK mention it would be like wallpapering a hallway in your house but doing it through the letterbox!So he is not keen of the minimal invasive procedure,i think this procedure is more for people who are older with much more health issues who may not have the choice of Sternotomy.I suggest you would watch some of the Youtube AATS conlave conference meeting with some of the Top Surgeons from around the world especially 2013.I would also email Mr Francis Wells secretary as he is one of the Top Surgeons in the world for Mitral Repair or in the USA Prof Steven Bolling and Dr.David Adams these are particularly sone of the most experienced Surgeons to ask and all are very professional kind and highly experienced in their field of Mitral Valve procedures and you will be in good hands.My Scar is near invisible too!You can even see how many mitral procedures a Surgeon has achieved in the UK over a 3 yr period on the scts.org . I actually kept myself busy with a lot of research and found it all really interesting.Good Luck it will be great to get things done and carry on to the next chapter . Stu.

Hello Richard, welcome to the site. As you've discovered there are +/- to each procedure. Personally, I had repair done via OHS by a very skilled NYC surgeon who does only OHS. I wanted him to see everything "under the hood" and wasn't worried about my recovery which was fine. No matter which you pick, make sure your surgeon does exclusively that procedure- mine does 100+ per year. I'd be hesitant to use a heart surgeon who claims he/she can do each equally well... Good luck, you'll be back to normal in no time, John D.

Hi Richard. I am a 65 yr. Lady that had aortic valve replacement in May of last year, (2018). I had a bovine valve put in. The Dr's goal was minimally invasive procedure, but my valve was more stenosed than they knew! So I had both incisions. Either I have a high pain tolerance or the pain drugs we're that good while in the hospital,. But I kept myself comfortable. I can say my post op experience was not bad at all. Surgery was on a Tuesday, it wasn't until Thursday that I ,"woke up,". as I was being wheeled to a step down unit while in my bed. I took IVpain meds maybe until the next am, then on to oral meds. They worked well for me. I went to a rehab facility on Sunday, (3hrs away!), by my choice. It was in my home town. That ride was looonnggg! I took pain meds just before I left which got me thru. It was my choice to discharge from rehab facility on Wed. evening. This was due to unforseen circumstances. I did okay as my hubby did most everything at home. Great guy! I was so thankful that we had bought twin sized beds that we could raise or lower the head and feet. Sleeping on my back was a big change for me. Pain pills and 3 pillows was a tremendous help. I did some cardiac rehab for a few weeks starting about 6 wks later. Hubby was doing all the driving as you are not to be riding in the front seat due to possibility of the air bags being deployed. Now, I am getting ready to go see Dr., (3hrtrip)! for a 1 yr. checkup. I can say that I feel much better now. I did not know I had the valve problem until the year before surgery. Guess you don't know you felt bad until you feel better!? I wish you the best. Positive thinking helps tremendously. Get some help with a counselor to help you talk out your thoughts also. Sorry for being chatty!

I had a mechanical mitral valve replacement done 5 years ago. I am still amazed that we the patients are even consulted or given choices! What do we know! The surgeons are supposed to be the flippen experts.

I had minimally invasive Aortic Valve replacement a year ago this past May performed at Weill Cornel NY Presbyterian by a top cardiac surgeon there. I had been a low risk patient and Dr Girardi , the Chief of Cardiology there , basically said my case was too straightforward for him to perform as he now only did the complicated ones but the surgeon he recommended would be the doctor he would have do the surgery if I was a family member! Well... I cam out of that surgery with a seroma and LYMPHODEMA in one leg where they attached the heart lung machine! I have spent the past year taking tests, seeing physicians and going for Lymphodema therapy rather than continuing an exercise program after the Cardiac Rehab. I am sorry I did not do it the old fashioned way... UGH. The smaller incision and quicker recovery from the heart surgery was not worth it! ( I don’t teally feel much better than I did before the surgery either )

I asked my surgeon which gave him the best visibility and access. He opened me up. Minimal pain, went home in one week. took one tramadol for the first two nights to get comfortable. Latest closing technique prevents any movement where chest was opened so there is no rubbing of bones.

Hi Richard, I had mitral valve repair three years ago. I so wanted to have it done robotically and minimally-invasively because, well, who wants to be cut down the middle? But my surgeon said he didn't feel he could do it without the full cut. (The hospital he was at was fully equipped for robotics and minimally-invasive procedures, so it wasn't as though they just didn't have the experience in those things.) I went along with my surgeon and am very glad I did. So here's my advice: (1) make sure you're very keen on the surgeon you choose (based on his record, ease of communication with you, etc.) (2) make sure your surgeon tries hard to repair rather than replace the mitral valve, wherever possible. (3) If he passes those two, then trust him completely to choose whichever way he thinks best for you. All the best, Artie (BTW, though each of us has different experiences with the full cut, I found it wasn't anywhere near as bad as I'd imagined. And I have the coolest scar now to show people. It's kind of like a fencer's scar--I'm one tough guy! Even though I'm a shrimp, lol.)

Hi Richard..Had my mitral valve repair done with robotic assistance. The procedure went flawless, little pain and was home in 3 days after the surgery. I was playing golf in 6 weeks. 3 years later the valve is functioning perfectly. I had three new chords installed. The key to a good success with robotic surgery is finding a surgeon who specializes with robotic surgery and has performed many robotic procedures. There are numerous experienced robotic surgeons throughout the country. Do your research and you will find a physician that meets your needs. A few other advantages to doing robotic surgery is that I was off the ventilator when I left the operating table, there are no wire sutures used closing the incision, I had 5 small incisions that were closed with glue. no stitches to remove. If you qualify for a minimally invasive procedure I would certainly pursue that method.

Hi Richard, My husband had the “cannonball to the sterum” triple bypass procedure done in Oct. 2014. The day after his surgery my doctor told me I needed my mitral valve repaired. I went with the robotic assist method, and recovery was easier by far. The toughest part was staying within my limits because I felt so great. My scars can be hidden by the smallest bikini, and although there is some dense scar tissue left in my breast and small nerve issues in where my leg and groin meet, it is a minor inconvenience. My husband still feels his wires “pop”, ended up being allergic to the metal and statins, has burning in his chest, numbness and weakness. He also is 6’6” and over 250 pounds. Due to his large chest, it took the doctor more time to “climb over him” and he ended up being on the heart pump too long, causing a traumatic brain injury. Good luck with your research! I was blessed to find Adam’s book to help me make the best decision of my life having the robotic assist method done for me by Dr. Sachin Shah.

Dear Richard, I had mitral valve surgery two times. The first operation done robotically failed because the cords could not be made the correct length robotically. The 2nd time the surgery was done through the sternum giving the surgeon direct access to the mitral valve. Not only was the 2nd procedure successful but the recovery was less painful. In my opinion, the mitral valve is too complex to be done robotically.

Hi Richard — I have the distinction of having had the minimally invasive MVR four years ago followed by a re-do MVR just four months ago. By far...I would recommend going with the traditional sternotomy....it was just as easy recovery as the first time and the results have been far better this time. The traditional approach gives the docs the room they need to get the job done right. The minimal approach is maybe a slight bit easier on the patient but very difficult on the surgeon. And, in my case, the right mini thoracotomy incision is more uncomfortable and bothersome, even 4 years later, than the central sternotomy which has been healing up nicely. Minimal approach also involves a groin incision which was not the easiest through recovery either. Pick a great surgeon and give them the room to get the job done under full exposure. I would do the center sternotomy over a mini thoracotomy hands down, if I ever had to do it again. Less muscles cut through and the “cracking the bone” visual really isn’t at all as bad as it may seem. Splitting the rib cage and cutting through the thorax and femoral artery access is far worse in my experience. Hope this helps in your decision... Best of luck!

I had a minimally invasive mitral valve repair at Mount Sinai Hospital in Miami and now have a titanium ring in my heart. Unfortunately, no one prepared me for all of the complications of the surgery going through the side of the rib cage. During surgery one of my lungs collapsed completely and the other was partially collapsed which necessitated a tube with a pump going into my chest cavity which remained in place for a number of days. This was painful, yes, but more importantly having that type of chest tube in place leaves you open to develop pleurisy as I did following the surgery. Also, there was a nerve injury to my right side which made right side of my chest feel like it was on fire for two months following surgery. I never got my full lung capacity back. Also, there are challenges with the testing that leads up to your surgery. I was required to have a cardiac catheterization to be sure there were no blockages prior to surgery. Unfortunately, this was botched and my femoral artery was sewn too tightly closed and it healed closed. Eight months later I nearly lost my right leg and had to have major surgery, a femoral arterial bypass.

Richard, Don't know where you live. But if it's feasible to go to Atlanta I would recommend that you have Dr. Doug Murphy do your surgery. He developed the original robotic mitral valve surgery technique using the DaVinci system called the LEAR surgery. He has done approximately 2000 mitral valve repair surgeries at St Joe's hospital. He also has trained surgeons at other major heart hospitals including the Cleveland Clinic. You can check out his bio on the Emory Clinic website. With that intro, he did my mitral valve repair surgery 3 years ago. Surgery on Thursday and released to go home the following Monday. Doing great since then. Hope all goes well. Gary Nelson

I had the 'side-entry' surgery (at the Heart Center at the University of São Paulo) instead of the sternotomy - a valve repair that involved implantation of a Carpentier ring and re-attachment of the cordae. I don't see how the recovery time wouldn't be less than a sternotomy. It has to be less. I ended the surgery with a rib feeling bruised, rather than a split sternum, and that pain disappeared within couple of weeks. In the meantime, I was already exercising, building up to long swift walks, and then, a few months later, fast running. I would always seek out the least invasive procedure available, based on recommendations from my surgeon (and if I had any doubts, a second surgeon).