William's Guestbook

Interesting comments at this Site re mitral valve repairs and surgeons/facilities/teams: http://www.valvereplacement.org/forums/archive/index.php/t-14699.html Barry on the mtn in NM

William - My brother in law from Tampa had his aortic valve replaced and an aortic aneurysm repaired at the Mayo near you. You may want to look there - his surgeon was Dr. Agnew and my brother in law was very happy with the hospital and the outcome. Best of luck. Randa Gaalswijk

Hi, I am with you. I have mitral regurgitation like you, but otherwise I\'m healthy. I\'m searching for a surgeon now too. You are still healthy. We just have leaky valves we need to get fixed. Then, we\'ll be even healthier. Chris

Hi William. Been there, now 4 weeks post surgery. American College of Cardiologists guidelines are that asymptomatic mitral valve regurgitation patients with \"severe\" regurgitation consider surgery at a center of excellence, not community hospital, for best outcomes. When you visit the surgeon, ask him/her to go over the all the relevant guidelines with you, it will help you make the best choices. And what Barry said, research all your options; in particular be aware that mitral valve repair (vs replacement) is possible in a large majority of cases. Best wishes -- DVB

If you haven\'t, could be beneficial to you to research various options available to for how the surgery is done. Some methods are tons less traumatic to the body than others, and not all surgeons will share with you all the options, escpecially if the particular surgeon doesn\'t do a particular type. Be CAREFUL. I really didn\'t have any noticeable symptoms and found out an a routine hypertension management follow-up 1/3rd of the blood from the right ventricle was backwashing through the mitral vavle with each contraction.....geeeezzzee. You might look at Anne Shannon\'s journal, and even mine. ...Barry on the Mtn in NM