Klara Čičić Beautiful family and encouraging story for me. Wishing you and your family all the best!
David Budge Thank you for the kind words and support! Sending my best wishes and prayers your way!
Deena Elani A lot to live for! Beautiful. Congrats
You look great David, thank you for sharing. You have a beautiful family, congratulations and continu ... Read more
You look great David, thank you for sharing. You have a beautiful family, congratulations and continued good health. God bless you
Rose Madura Yes, a beautiful family. Glad you are doing so well. You did all the research and made a decision tha ... Read more
Rose Madura Yes, a beautiful family. Glad you are doing so well. You did all the research and made a decision that was the right one for you! Congratulations.
Timothy Andre Thanks for the update David. I too had the "Ross" done at Mt. Sinai. Dr. Stelzer was my surgeon and ... Read more
Timothy Andre Thanks for the update David. I too had the "Ross" done at Mt. Sinai. Dr. Stelzer was my surgeon and he is just as amazing as El Hamamsy. I feel as blessed as you, having had the opportunity to be worked on by one of the best. I'm happy you're doing well
David Budge Thank you Deena, Ana, Rose & Timothy!
Individuals like you are what make this heart valve communi ... Read more
David Budge Thank you Deena, Ana, Rose & Timothy!
Individuals like you are what make this heart valve community so special. I hope
to give back the same love and support. Timothy,
I’m so glad your Ross procedure went so well. You are so blessed to have it
preformed by the legend Dr. Stelzer. Dr. El-Hamasy is following in his
footsteps. Not only are they world renowned surgeons, but also incredible human
beings. They have no egos but only seek to save lives. Patient Sarvil Bhansali
said it best, "Dr. Ismail
El-Hamamsy is an angel sent from God to live amongst us humans. He is the most
caring and selfless doctor I have come across”. Timothy, I know the same can be
said about Dr. Stelzer. It’s no surprise these two surgeons have worked
together. They are cut from the same cloth.
I was born with a bicuspid aortic valve. At age 43, I needed to have surgery to replace the valve. My cardiologist at Cedars Sinai in Los Angeles helped me ...Read more
I was born with a bicuspid aortic valve. At age 43, I needed to have surgery to replace the valve. My cardiologist at Cedars Sinai in Los Angeles helped me evaluate my 4 options for surgery. After much research, I decided to have the ROSS procedure. Due to the complexity of the procedure, my next step was to find the best surgeon regardless of geographical location. Even though there are amazing surgeons at Cedars Sinai in Los Angeles, none of them specialized in the ROSS procedure. As I expanded my search, I discovered Adam Pick’s Heart Valve Surgery Blog for Patients. The blog was incredible. It had every resource a heart valve patient would ever need, including recorded interviews with world renowned heart surgeons. Thanks to Adam Pick’s blog, I discovered Dr. Ismail El-Hamasy from Mount Sinai Hospital in New York. Not only is he a MD but also has a PhD with an emphasis on the aortic. He is arguably the smartest mind regarding the aortic. He has performed over 600 ROSS procedures. Not only is he one of the best surgeons, he has incredible bedside manners. When my wife and I first met Dr. El-Hamasy, he immediately put us at peace and we knew we had the right surgeon. The surgery was successfully performed on 2/9/2022. I am now back to full health & exercising regularly. Even though I had to jump-through hoops with my insurance company to have the surgery out-of-state and also deal with the logistics of traveling across the country, it was well worth it. I am so grateful and indebted to Dr El-Hamasy & Adam Pick. Because of my gratitude for all those that generously helped me, I would be happy to answer any questions about my experience and how I was able to obtain out-of-state authorization from my health insurance company. My email address is davidbudge8@gmail.com
Carla Golden Congratulations! Could you please explain what a BASS surgery is? Thank you!
David Budge Great question Carla. The Mount Sinai website describes the ROSS procedure the best..."The Ross proce ... Read more
David Budge Great question Carla. The Mount Sinai website describes the ROSS procedure the best..."The Ross procedure, also known as the pulmonary autograft procedure, is a surgical technique for replacing a diseased aortic valve. We typically use it with young, active patients without other serious chronic conditions.During the Ross procedure, our surgeon removes your diseased aortic valve and replaces it with your own pulmonary valve, which is anatomically similar. We replace the relocated pulmonary valve with a donor heart valve. Within a few months, the pulmonary valve becomes thicker and stronger and begins to behave like an aortic valve. The Ross procedure involves extensive reconstruction and requires us to protect your heart for a long period of time during the procedure, so we typically do it with a full sternotomy, rather than perform the procedure minimally invasively. We can shorten the skin incision on either end for cosmetic purposes. Using your own valve means it works better than an artificial one and does not damage blood cells or cause clotting. We can perform the Ross procedure after an earlier aortic valve surgery if necessary. The Ross procedure has several additional benefits including:
Decreased need for blood-thinners or anticoagulants
Less chance of postoperative deterioration of the valve from calcification (compared to using a valve from an animal)
The cardiac surgeons at Mount Sinai, located in New York City, perform aortic surgery using a stent graft, a fabric tube with metal wire supports. Other procedures include aortic root replacement, aortic arch replacement, and descending aorta replacement.
Individuals like you are what make this heart valve communi ... Read more
Individuals like you are what make this heart valve community so special. I hope
to give back the same love and support. Timothy,
I’m so glad your Ross procedure went so well. You are so blessed to have it
preformed by the legend Dr. Stelzer. Dr. El-Hamasy is following in his
footsteps. Not only are they world renowned surgeons, but also incredible human
beings. They have no egos but only seek to save lives. Patient Sarvil Bhansali
said it best, "Dr. Ismail
El-Hamamsy is an angel sent from God to live amongst us humans. He is the most
caring and selfless doctor I have come across”. Timothy, I know the same can be
said about Dr. Stelzer. It’s no surprise these two surgeons have worked
together. They are cut from the same cloth.