Cherie Duncan - Heart Valve Journal

My Journal

431 days ago

Latest update on my journey with heart surgery...as stated before, i was looking for a second opinion from the CC... Got a referral from a cardiac surgery nurse ...Read more

Latest update on my journey with heart surgery...as stated before, i was looking for a second opinion from the CC... Got a referral from a cardiac surgery nurse who worked under 2 different doctors and inquired about an appointment with them..the first one was moving to another state to continue his practice so i went to the second one she worked under..

Dr Kazui here at Banner medical center received the exact same reports and images as did the CC. He reviewed my chart, sat down with me for over a 1/2 hr explaining everything he saw and thought including how he was going to fix my valves, remove the appendage on the side of the heart that helps with blood flow to reduce chances of a stroke later and possible maze procedure if the 14 day monitor i am on now shows any afib due to my tachycardia and irregular heartbeats..

He even used his stethoscope to listen to my heart...an exam that i did not receive while at CC by either dr.. he also plans to do a ct scan maybe one with contrast since the last one didnt have contrast to confirm the same diagnosis that my cardiologist stated is moderate to severe regurgitation of both valves..

After testing is complete, i will post again to when surgery will be scheduled..

Stay healthy!!

Barbara Litwin Hi Cherie…I’m in Fountain Hills….’my surgery is on June 10th…My Dr is Robert Riley in Scott ... Read more

Barbara Litwin Hi Cherie…I’m in Fountain Hills….’my surgery is on June 10th…My Dr is Robert Riley in Scottsdale he is at Honor Health Heart and Lung on 92 St…why dont you call him

Robert Miller I am not sure what CC is but Dr. Kazui seems to be doing all the right things. Removing the appendage doesn't help with blood flow. Well, I guess maybe because blood can't pool up in the appendage but it doesn't help with EF, etc. It's the right thing to do, though.

Check how many valve repairs/replacements your surgeon did and how many maze procedures. Check if he is doing the procedure or someone else under his supervision.

Your other doctor didn't use a stethoscope??? Not checking if you have any murmurs, irregular heart beat, etc? Maybe he already saw everything on the ultrasound but it takes like 30s to get some feedback/confirmation or possibly hearing something else like related to your lungs.

I got a CT scan with contrast just to check if my arteries are fine. I am not sure how you could see regurgitation in a CT scan. Maybe you can by looking at how fast the die is pushed out of the heart but I haven't heard of people doing that. I believe regurgitation is usually checked with ultrasound.

Anyways, as I said, Dr. Kazui is saying and doing the right things.

Daneen Douglas My surgery was done at Banner Heart Hospital in Mesa, AZ by Dr. Michael Maxwell. I was very happy an ... Read more

Daneen Douglas My surgery was done at Banner Heart Hospital in Mesa, AZ by Dr. Michael Maxwell. I was very happy and felt super comfortable with him and the hospital, staff, and doctors were awesome! I look forward to reading about your test results.

Cherie Duncanposted a journal

484 days ago

My timeline of events.

8/4/23 Transesphigeal echo performed by my cardiologist himself.

12/21/23 left and right heart catherization ...Read more

My timeline of events.

8/4/23 Transesphigeal echo performed by my cardiologist himself.

12/21/23 left and right heart catherization done by another cardiologist.

January 2024 dr appt with cardiologist confirming both cardiologists doing tests agree open heart surgery needed. Mind set on Dr Gillinov for surgeon.

02/14/2023 send off reports to dr Gillinovs office for referral.

02/19/2024 phone call from Dr Gillinovs office with approval of surgery and date scheduled for 4/4/2024.

Middle march letters from insurance co with med codes from dr gillinov for needed repair of mitral valve and for replacement of tricuspid valve.

04/01/2024 arrive in cleveland from tucson arizona.

04/03/2024 arrive to cleveland clinic to start testing for surgery next day..i have echo done again with Dr Kwon, she states my valves are mild not severe as two drs here in tucson states. She says tests here misread/ over exaggerated. Says surgery not needed. Throws out a possible diagnosis of heart failure by ejection fraction. (SOMETHING NEVER MENTIONED BEFORE). Kwon also states the gillinovs medical staff must have read my report and called me to schedule surgery. She suggested doing a stress test to see if my dr saw something at home that wasnt caught on the echo just performed.

Went to dr gillinov medical assistant she states the dr gillinov is the only one who evaluates and approves surgery to be scheduled.

Get into appointment with dr gillinov hes saying no surgery needed. Im confused and ssked why his office called me with a surgery date then if it wasnt needed. He said we dont randomly call patients and schedule surgery like that..i asked if he saw my records, he got offended and said he wasnt gonna be interogated by me. We asked about the stress test ordered by kwon and he said you can do it if you want but its not gonna change his mind about the surgery.. he did say that i may never need surgery that the valves my not get any worse, then he said"ok,Im gonna go fix some hearts now." and walked out of the room.

So now, i have more questions than answers before i even got there. What changed so drastically from 2/14 to 4/3 that a surgery dr gillinov approved and sent to my insurance co for to 4/3 being sent home with more questions and my heart issues being the same...

Is the best of the best REALLY the best?

Not in this girls eyes anymore..

Cherie Duncan So this gal is having to start the whole process all over again to get answers and staying the hell ... Read more

Cherie Duncan So this gal is having to start the whole process all over again to get answers and staying the hell out of cleveland next time.

Valerie Allen Cherie, if I understand your timeline, the error/malfunction, whatever you want to call it was on the ... Read more

Valerie Allen Cherie, if I understand your timeline, the error/malfunction, whatever you want to call it was on the tests/reports from Tucson. Is that accurate? That is what Cleveland went on until they did their own tests?

Dan Fouratt I am speechless, You could not make up that story if you tried.

Cherie Duncan One more thing to add also is going from and internal test (tee) decision which brought me to the cl ... Read more

Cherie Duncan One more thing to add also is going from and internal test (tee) decision which brought me to the cleveland clinic was suddenly reversed by an external test (echo) which isnt as accurate as the tee...im at a loss really!!!

Cherie Duncan Valerie what im saying is the tee and catherization was done in tucson, reports sent to dr gillinov o ... Read more

Cherie Duncan Valerie what im saying is the tee and catherization was done in tucson, reports sent to dr gillinov office, officially read by him, authorized and scheduled for surgery by him and then dismissed by an external echo the day before as mild regurgitaion than moderate to severe on the tee...which is more reliable? External echo or internal echo? Thats what im trying to figure out. By the way, the tee was performed, read, and reported by my cardiologist noone else.

Cherie Duncan Dan you are correct...and my daughter was with me the whole time...

Susan Lynn Cherie - You certainly rode the pre-surgical emotional roller coaster, but I have incredible admi... Read more

Susan Lynn Cherie - You certainly rode the pre-surgical emotional roller coaster, but I have incredible admiration for Dr. Gillinov for telling you that your current valve status didn't warrant surgery and you may never require it. I recently found out the my 95-year old aunt's surgeon 'over exaggerated' the condition of her stenosis and need for an aortic valve replacement. I guess the surgeon thought he could railroad an elderly lady into a procedure she didn't need.

At least medical ethics are still alive and well at the Cleveland Clinic. It's great to see a surgeon who puts a patient's wellbeing ahead of revenue generation. Dr. Gillinov is truly a unicorn in today's healthcare environment!

I'm sorry you had to go through the stress and expense, but I would have been ecstatic to get the news that I didn't need OHS. If you're going to question anyone, I'd go back to the cardiologist who did the TEE.
Wishing you the best.

Cherie Duncan The cardiologist who did the TEE is the same cardiologist i have had for nearly 20 yrs now. Anyone wh ... Read more

Cherie Duncan The cardiologist who did the TEE is the same cardiologist i have had for nearly 20 yrs now. Anyone who knows my history, would be him. Having a hole in the heart since birth, not finding it til i was 14, having ohs when i was 15 to fix the hole, i have been on top of my heart health from 15 on..i followed my cardiologist where ever he went.. so he has seen the progression of my valve disease over the years and hasnt over exaggerated the progression at all. This is a huge ball of confusion.......

Rose Madura Cherie, did you get a second opinion locally?

Grace Mason Cherie, I can't imagine dealing with the emotional turmoil of thinking your symptoms would be resolve ... Read more

Grace Mason Cherie, I can't imagine dealing with the emotional turmoil of thinking your symptoms would be resolved by a scheduled surgery, only to suddenly hear a completely different diagnosis after pre surgery testing. Yikes. I would definitely be getting another opinion outside of the ones you have to date.

Valerie Allen Cherie, it sounds like this type of situation is why Cleveland Clinic insists on doing their own test ... Read more

Valerie Allen Cherie, it sounds like this type of situation is why Cleveland Clinic insists on doing their own tests. I understand the upheaval, however.

J Alexander Lassally Do let us know what an independent read on things reveals from a third party.

Michele Renee Hi! I see your in Arizona. If you decide to get a second opinion I highly recommend Cedar Sinai Dr. J ... Read more

Michele Renee Hi! I see your in Arizona. If you decide to get a second opinion I highly recommend Cedar Sinai Dr. Joanna Chikwe. My cardiologist was in San Diego and after looking at reviews and other patients experience I decided to get a second opinion. Best decision I could have made. Go with your gut, first impressions are a huge deal for heart surgery!! Plus they are in Los Angeles which is closer :)

From my own personal experience and the more I read I'm really wondering about all of the cardiac imaging. It seems to entail a fair amount of guesswork.

Over the course of two years I had 5 echocardiograms done and my left ventricle results went, normal, severely dilated, normal, severely dilated, normal. Even had my Cardiologist during the first episode of severe dilatation tell me the echo report was completely wrong according to his measurements.

Had a surgeon try to hurry me into surgery because of said dilatation as well, which was either a result of incompetence at best or fabrication at worst.

Personally I would trust my long term Cardiologist and just go elsewhere for another opinion, there's the Mayo clinic in Phoenix, perhaps the surgeons there suffer from less Hubris.

Though if you're having symptoms and have imaging showing the likely cause of those symptoms it might be more malpractice than hubris.

Yumiko Ishida I am sorry you had to go through all of this. I would suggest getting an opinion from someone unaffil ... Read more

Yumiko Ishida I am sorry you had to go through all of this. I would suggest getting an opinion from someone unaffiliated from your Tucson doctors and CC. Cedar Sinai recommended by Michele is probably not a bad idea. There are plenty in Phoenix, too, but I myself am in search for a new cardiologist in Phoenix, so can’t recommend one over another. I highly recommend my surgeon, Dr. Fang, but you need a referral to see him, and it sounds like you potentially do not need a surgeon. What I found during my research is that a lot of the doctors in the same town have past affiliations and they seem to cover for each other. I formally consulted 3 cardiologists and 2 electrophysiologists, plus informally spoke to 2 retired cardiologist and 1 out of town cardiologist, not to mention interview 2 surgeons. The most useful were the retired and out of town cardiologists. I think I trusted their opinions more, because they had no professional or financial stake in the outcome. They were only interested in my well being.

Richard Munson Wow, i guess you “ had to be there” to appreciate “i’ve got some hearts to fix” your broken ... Read more

Richard Munson Wow, i guess you “ had to be there” to appreciate “i’ve got some hearts to fix” your broken heart could have used a little fixing about then. Makes my mass general guy seem like a saint.

Sue Maize Cherie, I read this with my mouth gaping open! We can all imagine how devastating this would be becau ... Read more

Sue Maize Cherie, I read this with my mouth gaping open! We can all imagine how devastating this would be because we could all potentially be in your shoes. I’m so sorry! Sometimes I wonder if even the best doctors suffer from “familiarity breeds contempt” in that they do this so often they forget this is not routine to the patient, not to mention that we’re having to trust someone else with our very lives, so of course we’re going to ask lots of questions. I would be switching surgeons too if I was accused of “interrogating” them.

I think Yumiko and others have offered some really good suggestions here—it’s times like these that remind us how important such a community is! Please keep us posted.praying you’ll be directed to the right person soon! ❤️‍🩹🙏🏻

Hari Karra Boy Cherie - You have been through a roller coaster - and not sure how you could have avoided it. Alm ... Read more

Hari Karra Boy Cherie - You have been through a roller coaster - and not sure how you could have avoided it. Almost the need to have independent second opinions all throughout the process , validating critical decisions.