Daniel Carbonneau - Heart Valve Journal

My Journal

1671 days ago

Screw it - I committed. Going for mitral valve repair via sternotomy and chose tissue valve back-up. Scheduled for Wednesday morning, December 30th. The anxiety ...Read more

Screw it - I committed. Going for mitral valve repair via sternotomy and chose tissue valve back-up. Scheduled for Wednesday morning, December 30th. The anxiety train has left the station...

Susan Lynn Daniel - Like you, I searched for alternatives for my mitral valve entry. I ended up having a side ... Read more

Susan Lynn Daniel - Like you, I searched for alternatives for my mitral valve entry. I ended up having a side incision mini-thoracotomy. Full robotic and the mini-thoracotomy do require another incision in the groin to connect to the bypass machine. As others have stated, robotic can greatly increase time on the pump.

A very accomplished robotic surgeon told me, 'Sometimes we want to get in and get out.' (He was referring to sternotomy and mini-sternotomy.) He continued to say, 'In a month, it won't make any difference how the entry was done.'

A short wait and minimal time on the pump is never a bad choice. You'll do just fine! All the best! ❤

Chris Hall Good choice. You'll do great

Thomas Brusstar Nice! That's a short wait time. You'll be all good for New Year's Eve!

Daniel, it’s a relief for you to have made a decision. You’ll do well and at your age you will re ... Read more

Daniel, it’s a relief for you to have made a decision. You’ll do well and at your age you will recover quicker. God bless you and know I will be praying for your successful surgery and speedy recovery.

Rose Madura For what it's worth, I think you made the right decision. Please keep us updated.

Elyse Sherman Good for you, Daniel, the decision to go for it is half the battle. You’ll have a short wait (and s ... Read more

Elyse Sherman Good for you, Daniel, the decision to go for it is half the battle. You’ll have a short wait (and short worry) time and you will be on the road to recovery before you know it. My aortic valve replacement is on 1/15/21 so I’m looking forward to hearing from you once you’re done and recovering!

Steven Methot With a name like Carbonneau you wouldn't happen to be Quebecois would you?

Domenick Panzarella Well be thinking about you tomorrow, give em hell! Please tell us how it went, whenever youre feeling ... Read more

Domenick Panzarella Well be thinking about you tomorrow, give em hell! Please tell us how it went, whenever youre feeling up to it. Sleep well.

Daniel Carbonneau Thank you all for the fantastic words of encouragement!!! Here it is 1:30AM and I need to be at the h ... Read more

Daniel Carbonneau Thank you all for the fantastic words of encouragement!!! Here it is 1:30AM and I need to be at the hospital at 5AM, no big deal - hahaha... I'm not freaking out, not one bit ;)

Steven, originally a Mainiac or Mainer, but the fam bloodline flows through Quebec...

Domenick Panzarella Haha, Id say that you were certainly entitled to a good freak out in this case.

Daniel Carbonneauposted an update

1671 days ago

Cheers heart peeps!!! Curious if anyone has experience with your insurance carrier allowing for out-of-state surgery?

Susan Lynn Daniel - Yes. There are often network limitations on insurance plans. Even with coverage, you ca ... Read more

Susan Lynn Daniel - Yes. There are often network limitations on insurance plans. Even with coverage, you can end up with bills for deductibles, co-pays, and services that are simply not covered. Be sure to know what you're getting into before you select a physician and facility.

Phyllis Petersen It all depends upon your plan. I was able to go to Cleveland Clinic from Tucson. A lot of my pre-test ... Read more

Phyllis Petersen It all depends upon your plan. I was able to go to Cleveland Clinic from Tucson. A lot of my pre-testing was done here. I was fortunate that I had family an hour and a half from Cleveland, but I would have gone anyway. I wanted robotic surgery and was a good candidate for it and Dr. Gillinov had agreed to do it. I hear a lot of negative things about the robotic surgery, but I was glad I had it. The initial pain after is severe, but medication took care of that and it didn't last long, except at night. I was driving short distances four weeks after surgery and was able to advance quickly with weights in cardiac rehab, which you have to take a bit slower when they enter through the sternum. Here is Tucson, there was no option for robotic, so I went to CC. My cardiologist at Banner and his assistant were fantastic with coordinating with Dr. Gillinov's team to make the process very smooth. Of course, travel and a stay at the Holiday Express on the campus of CC added to the cost of the surgery, but it worked for me. All the best going forward. It's scary as hell, but the stats are on your side, as you can see from the vast number of successful repairs documented on this site.

Joe Tarango Hi Daniel, I went out of state. I called my insurance and had them verify that the surgeon was in net ... Read more

Joe Tarango Hi Daniel, I went out of state. I called my insurance and had them verify that the surgeon was in network. You can call with a number of surgeons and see who is in network and go from there.

Elyse Sherman I live in North Carolina and was able to schedule surgery at the Cleveland Clinic with insurance cove ... Read more

Elyse Sherman I live in North Carolina and was able to schedule surgery at the Cleveland Clinic with insurance covering all costs. You can call your insurance company and find out if your surgeon and the procedures you are to have are covered prior to your surgery.

Daniel Carbonneau Thanks for the replies! I went ahead and opted for the sternotomy in state. Phyllis, I'm in AZ too, a ... Read more

Daniel Carbonneau Thanks for the replies! I went ahead and opted for the sternotomy in state. Phyllis, I'm in AZ too, and I found that no one in the state does this procedure robotically.

Phyllis Petersen Daniel, I found the same, but hoped by now they had hired someone here. The have the equipment, but n ... Read more

Phyllis Petersen Daniel, I found the same, but hoped by now they had hired someone here. The have the equipment, but need to entice an experienced surgeon to this great state. I'm originally from NYC and guess I was a bit spoiled by the choices there. Whatever choice you make, I'm sure you'll do well. There are a lot of really great surgeons here, just not ones doing robotic mitral valve repair.

Daniel Carbonneauposted an update

1672 days ago

Hello Heart Valve friends! Looking for input/feedback from the community here. So, I've pretty much satisfied all the test procedures to move forward with the ...Read more

Hello Heart Valve friends! Looking for input/feedback from the community here. So, I've pretty much satisfied all the test procedures to move forward with the surgery. My left heart catheterization came back great with no narrowing of the arteries and the TEE that I had, just yesterday, is apparently showing me as a great candidate for repair. That alone has lifted my spirits. My only reservation at this point is that the two surgeons I've met with (both of which are on the surgeon finder list here) will only do the repair via sternotomy. My reluctance is due to all the videos here where Adam is interviewing all these eager surgeons who have embraced the de Vinci robotic system for the less invasive procedure resulting in faster recovery and more precision in performing the surgery. Both surgeons I spoke to down played it though saying they have done it robotically in the past but that they found that they were having to perform second surgeries more often than they cared. Since I'm not symptomatic (yet) I figured I would dedicate some time to see if I could get the surgery done at one of the heart hospitals listed here that have embraced the de Vinci method so enthusiastically. My hurdle of course would be insurance. I am currently on state sponsored insurance so I imagine I would have a tough time getting them to approve a procedure out of state. The surgeon I met with today, Dr. Kenneth Ashton, whom I liked a lot actually, has openings for surgery next week!!! I am grateful for anyone's advice or input... Mucho love to you all.

Thomas Brusstar There is something to be said for doing the surgery next week. Everybody on here seems to agree that ... Read more

Thomas Brusstar There is something to be said for doing the surgery next week. Everybody on here seems to agree that the anticipation of the surgery is the most traumatic part of the process. It might be nice to bang this out in 2020, and you can start the new year knowing that your heart is healing. If you really have your heart set on a robotic procedure, then it sounds like you need to keep doing more homework. But if you decide to go with a full sternotomy, You certainly can’t go wrong.

Daniel Carbonneau Thomas, do you think maybe I'm a tad over thinking the whole "non-invasive" and "robotic" surgery stu ... Read more

Daniel Carbonneau Thomas, do you think maybe I'm a tad over thinking the whole "non-invasive" and "robotic" surgery stuff? It just seems to me with how many surgeons are singing its praise, then why wouldn't I seek it out? I feel like the surgeons that are shooting it down just never embraced it. I don't know. What are your thoughts regarding this video?

Advantages of Robotic Mitral Valve Repair with Dr. Vinay Badhwar (WVU Heart & Vascular Institute)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qlrCDjuszeA

http://www.Heart-Valve-Surgery.com - Get critical insights about the advantages of robotic mitral valve repair surgery for conditions including mitral regurg...

Carlos Banuelos I had an AV issue,, not a mitral valve issue, but if I could have had it repaired robotically through ... Read more

Carlos Banuelos I had an AV issue,, not a mitral valve issue, but if I could have had it repaired robotically through a small incision I absolutely would have done so. For a replacement, my surgeon did a mini sternotomy, not a full sternotomy and used a fixation device to close my chest. Not much pain. My back was more sore than anything from the hunching. But I think the least trauma, the better. I guess your insurance may carry the day. But perhaps since you’re nearing the end of the year, you can get new insurance that will cover your at one of the specialty hospitals you’re looking at. Definitely worth a consult. Most importantly for me was to make sure I was comfortable with my surgeon and we were aligned on how he was going to replace my valve.

Rose Madura I had a hysterectomy done via da Vinci robotic and had four small incisions with about 1-2 week recov ... Read more

Rose Madura I had a hysterectomy done via da Vinci robotic and had four small incisions with about 1-2 week recovery vs 8+ weeks so it's definitely a plus. My heart surgery was a full sternotomy which definitely made my body mad. Tough choice for you but I'm one that always says to trust the doctors. Best wishes in your journey.

Marie Myers If the doctor and center is well experienced with the robotic technique , it can be very beneficial. ... Read more

Marie Myers If the doctor and center is well experienced with the robotic technique , it can be very beneficial. But like everything else, there is a learning curve to using robotics. Does your doctor routinely use robotics?

Chris Hall I discussed the less invasive option with my surgeon. What he explained to me was that with the robo ... Read more

Chris Hall I discussed the less invasive option with my surgeon. What he explained to me was that with the robot the procedure can take quite a bit longer. That keeps you on the heart/,lung machine longer which can be a problem. The thought of cracking my chest open was not appealing to me. I happy to say that your sternum will not be near as bad as you think. I'm at 1month and just about all healed. Relax you've got this.

Daniel Carbonneau Carlos, Rose, Marie and Chris... Thank you all for the words of encouragement. It means a lot, as you ... Read more

Daniel Carbonneau Carlos, Rose, Marie and Chris... Thank you all for the words of encouragement. It means a lot, as you you know. Marie, to answer your question, the last surgeon I spoke with said that he was trained on robotics many years ago but mentioned that he was seeing too many patients back for issues. I'm thinking yeah because you were new and probably didn't gain much experience so you abandoned it...

Thomas Brusstar Good discussion. You just have to discuss it and decide with your doc. Mine liked open because it g ... Read more

Thomas Brusstar Good discussion. You just have to discuss it and decide with your doc. Mine liked open because it gives him more flexibility once he’s in there, and probably less time on the heart lung pump. But there are great results with both.

Ray Lang I've heard that robotic has like a 95 pct plus success rate. It's 4-5 days in the hospital most like ... Read more

Ray Lang I've heard that robotic has like a 95 pct plus success rate. It's 4-5 days in the hospital most likely, some pain the chest and upper back, some other more milder pain and then you get on with it. My Doc was an expert in robotic so I went with it. I had no symptoms for the record.

Doran Herritt Do what your doctor is comfortable with. My doc said, you want me to do something Ive dane a few time ... Read more

Doran Herritt Do what your doctor is comfortable with. My doc said, you want me to do something Ive dane a few times or one that ive done thousands of times. Plus, if something goes wrong they will crack you open anyway.

Marie Myers As someone who has worked in the Operating room for 41 years, I can say that what Doran Herritt says ... Read more

Marie Myers As someone who has worked in the Operating room for 41 years, I can say that what Doran Herritt says is right on the money.

Upcoming Surgeries

Shaun Bloodworth
Mitral Regurgitation
July 29, 2025

Tara Koch
Aortic Regurgitation
July 30, 2025

Mike Antoine
Mitral Regurgitation
August 5, 2025

Surgeon Finder

Find and research over 1,500 patient-recommended heart valve surgeons.

Search Now

HOME

ABOUT US

COMMUNITY

LEARNING CENTER

DOCTOR FINDER

HEART HOSPITALS

VIDEOS

ADAM'S BLOG

NEWSLETTER

STORE

CONTACT

JOIN US

SIGN IN

Daniel's Journal

Daniel's Journal

Upcoming Surgeries

Surgeon Finder

Surgeon Spotlight