About Me (In My Own Words)
April 21, 2022 was my Aortic Valve Sparing Root Replacement performed by Dr El-Hamamsy, a super star in the field of heart surgery.
It was a long journey to get to April 21, 2022. I have been a patient of Dr Fuster for over 20 years when my thoracic aneurysm was first identified. Over this time period, my aneurysm increased from 4.3 cm to 5.0cm still well below the 5.5 cm threshold where surgery was recommended. In late ‘21, Dr Fuster asked that I meet with Dr Hamamsy…. That should have been a clue that something has changed. Indeed, the new medical research advocated operating on the aortic root at 5.0 cm given the now identified higher risk of dissection at the root vs the rest of the ascending aorta.
Dr El- Hamamsy is a super star. In the five months prior to my surgery, I did extensive diligence on Dr El-Hamamsy and the recommended procedure.My wife and I reviewed and discussed with Dr Hamamsy the new guidance, risk of surgery, risk of not operating, timing consideration, etc. He is a leader in the relatively new valve sparring procedure and has many published research articles on this topic. I also consulted with two leading cardio vascular surgeons who are friends and heads of cardiac surgery at leading hospitals in the US. Both supported using Dr El- Hamamsy and the recommended surgery.
Back to April 21, 2022. Not surprisingly, I don’t remember much about the that day or next. My stay at Mount Sinai lasted 6 days, a bit longer than the norm due to intermittent AFib. I felt that the doctors were properly attentive with regular visits from El- Hamamsey, Roberto Galao-Malo ( El-H’s talented Nurse Practitioner ), and Dr Fuster’s team. Consistent with their advice, the AFib went away after few days.
Fast forward to today, I am in good shape and back to normal. I am enormously appreciative of Dr El-Hamamsy and his team. Not only are they talented surgeons and excellent communicators, but they care about their patient outcomes over the long term. I enthusiastically recommend Dr El Hamamsy.
Sincerely, Kirk Wilson
More Info About Me & My Heart
More About Me
I am from: Greenwich, CT
My surgery date is: April 21, 2022
