Wes's Guestbook

Liz Draeger posted a note for Wes that says: 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.

Anony posted a note for Wes that says: Wes, praying for your procedures and for you. Wishing you the best as you travel this corridor back to health.

Ana Brusso posted a note for Wes that says: 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 🙏🙏❤️

dina hudson posted a note for Wes that says: 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.

Bill Harrison posted a note for Wes that says: 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.

Victoria Baker posted a note for Wes that says: 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)

Ruby Hondros posted a note for Wes that says: 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.

Tom posted a note for Wes that says: 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

Artie Rubin posted a note for Wes that says: 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.

George F. posted a note for Wes that says: Hello Wes,

I am a patient of Dr. Rick A. Nishimura, cardiologist at Mayo Clinic Rochester, even though I live just 75 miles from Mayo Clinic Jacksonville. I have medium to severe regurgitation of the mitral and aortic valves but am asymptomatic.

Dr. Nishimura has me under "active surveillance" by means of semi-annual transthoracic echocardiography (TTE) in order to determine when I'll have to undergo surgery. At this point I'm still unclear as to what surgical technique will be appropriate for me nor have I decided on a particular surgeon. Any thoughts, Wes (or anyone else on this webpage)? I'm posting for the first time.

Best regards,

Dee Frank posted a note for Wes that says: Hi Wes! I’ve had a mitral valve repair for severe regurgitation & pulmonary hypertension that was botched creating severe mitral stenosis, then needing a mechanical valve replacement. Then, I had another for the aortic valve and I couldn’t imagine not having a lift recliner. I lived in it for a month each time. Best of luck to you. ❤️🙏🏼

Dana Eyre posted a note for Wes that says: Hang in there Wes! I had mitral valve replacement - love the recliner. Will be thinking of you!D

RA posted a note for Wes that says: Hello Wes,

I hope you are aware there is a certain window with mitral leaking where you need to have intervention before your pumping system starts to fail. Severe leaking is one of the indications for surgery regardless of symptoms, per experts. This experience with a place like Mayo sounds strange to me, but they should have given you timeframe in which you need to have surgery and that will tell you if you can wait for a certain doctor. I did mine at Cleveland clinic in Florida and my experience was nothing like this and they were busy as well. I had a consultation with a Mayo cardiologist that may be of assistance to you, if you really want to to Mayo: https://www.mayoclinic.org/biographies/parikh-pragnesh-p-m-d/bio-20415361.

If your insurance covers mayo, probably covers other high quality facilities such as Cleveland. Make sure you looking for specific known surgeon within the center, not just center. This site has several well known. I can only speak for mine. Dr. Navia in Cleveland clinic. Good luck and don't delay your surgery due to administrative issues. Go somewhere else.