Wes's Guestbook

Hi Wes! I know surgery seems daunting now but after all is done, you will feel like a new person. I too live in Phoenix so if you need support I'm here! Be sure to get yourself to cardiac rehab, it will be a huge help. What doctor and hospital? I had AVR plus Mitral and Tricuspid repair in 2019.

Dear Wes, I will be keeping you up in prayer for tomorrow surgery to go well. You are in good hands with your surgeon and medical team. God will be with you and we will be here to welcome you into recovery. God bless you 🙏🙏❤️

Good luck with your surgery! I am scheduled at Mayo Arizona for Mitral Valve Repair on September 22nd. My surgeon is Patrick DeValeria. I, too, wonder if I will need some assistance getting in and out of bed when I come home. I have considered a rope-type thing, a metal bar that attaches to the bed, and a friend suggested a step stool set next to the bed.

Hi, Wes! I had a mitral valve repair, with one bypass as well, by Dr. Trento at Cedars-Sanai Hospital in Los Angeles a few years ago. (Because of needing the bypass, he did not do robotic surgery; mine was conventional in that regard.) I am SO PLEASED with the care I got there from him and the staff there at Cedars-Sanai. I had anticipated that, after the surgery, I would need help getting up out of bed for a while, but that turned out not to be the case. I had my son come and stay with us to help me out for a couple of weeks. But I didn't need help getting up from the bed. And though I have a large recliner-like chair, I never slept in it. I mention this in regard to your apparent thoughts about a recliner. Of course, we're all a little different, but I wanted to reassure you that it may be easier than you anticipate. My surgery was in 2017, and I recovered well and fairly quickly. I was 74 at the time. Now, 4 years later, my echocardiograms show I'm in good shape now. Here's wishing you great success with your surgery.

Hey Wes....thinking of you. I had robotic assisted MV repair surgery one year ago. (at WVU with Dr. Badhwar). Amazing results. You will do well. I want to let you know I have a mechanical bed here at home and I am unsure what I would have done without it. I say yes to the reclining chair (if you cannot get a mechanical bed)

Hi Wes, I too was looking to do robotic surgery, but my surgeon said it was somewhat similar in what he was proposing to do but he had control. I had my mitral valve repair done Jan 12th, at Hartford Hospital and had a mini thoracotomy done which does not go thru the sternum and instead incision was made just beneath the right breast, an incision by the groin and small incision near rib cage on far right, and can’t tell you how happy I was and am at how it really helped me heal rather quickly. I had severe regurgitation and, of course, not everyone qualifies to do it this way. I feel fortunate that Dr Saber Hashim’s expertise in mitral valve surgeries really was a huge plus for me. With regard to a recliner, I can vouch that I purchased a zero gravity Hale air comfort recliner that is amazing and still use it and would highly recommend it. I had also purchased a VIVE bed rail/grab bar that goes under your mattress and really helps when you are getting out of bed the first few weeks. Hope this helps.

I used a web pillow and worked well. I would get on my side at a 90 degree angle and put pillows on my back to keep me at the 90 degree angle. This took the pressure off my chest

Hi Wes, the mantra re: "recliner" (and everything else re: heart surgery) is--everyone is different. I didn't need one, but I've heard that lots of people did. I also recovered within 6 weeks and other people have taken longer (and maybe even shorter). If I were you, I'd go to a store that sells recliners and have one all ready to be sent out to you if you find you need one. But make sure you have the option of canceling the order at any time if you find you didn't need one. Every good wish for your upcoming procedure.