Eric Prock - Heart Valve Journal

My Journal

Eric Prockposted a journal

2883 days ago

My wife Lisa had minimally invasive mitral valve repair surgery on July 19. Over the past month, her heart rate began to consistently exceed 100 BPM and she ...Read more

My wife Lisa had minimally invasive mitral valve repair surgery on July 19. Over the past month, her heart rate began to consistently exceed 100 BPM and she began feeling extremely tired and sometimes light headed. Our cardiologist did not seem concerned but our surgeon (fortunately) agreed to prescribe beta blockers, which bring her hear rate down to around 90 BPM and ameliorate most of her symptoms. I understand that mitral valve surgery can induce electrical problems that affect heart rate. Does anyone have experience with Tachycardia following mitral valve surgery or advice to share?

Cathy Zuber Hi. I was in AFIB for almost 3 months after my mitral valve surgery. Then it's gone to "a-flutter". ... Read more

Cathy Zuber Hi. I was in AFIB for almost 3 months after my mitral valve surgery. Then it's gone to "a-flutter". At 6 months post surgery..I've had a break!! Keep yr cardiologist and primary care Docs informed.. keep hydrated..watch the blood pressure. You can buy a wristband BP monitor at most drugstores. Time will more than likely make a difference. The beats will return to normal as the heart heals!!

Eric Prockposted a journal

3069 days ago

My wife has severe posterior mitral valve leaflet prolapse and severe mitral valve regurgitation. She is otherwise healthy and a good candidate for Minimally ...Read more

My wife has severe posterior mitral valve leaflet prolapse and severe mitral valve regurgitation. She is otherwise healthy and a good candidate for Minimally Invasive Posterior mitral valve repair. We're looking for referrals to surgeons who are very experienced in this surgery and have a low incidence of performing valve replacement instead.

Steve Farthing FYI - There are several approaches to the 'minimally invasive' mitral valve repair method: ministerno ... Read more

Steve Farthing FYI - There are several approaches to the 'minimally invasive' mitral valve repair method: ministernotomy, minithoracotomy via direct vision with some rib spreading, minithoracotomy via videoscopic assistance without rib spreading and DaVinci robotic surgery. All methods can result in excellent outcomes. Any given surgeon will typically only offer one of those options. If you determine a preference for one of the methods, then you have to find an excellent surgeon who offers that method.

Dan Marcantel If you are near AZ or can fly in go see Dr. Patrick Devaleria at Mayo Scottsdale. He did my minimally ... Read more

Dan Marcantel If you are near AZ or can fly in go see Dr. Patrick Devaleria at Mayo Scottsdale. He did my minimally invasive Mitral repair and is fantastic.

Wait
Actually I just saw your journal and if you are in Gilbert AZ go see Dr D. He is your best bet in Arizona.

Phyllis Petersen I was a good candidate for robotic assisted mitral repair, so made the decision to travel to Clevelan ... Read more

Phyllis Petersen I was a good candidate for robotic assisted mitral repair, so made the decision to travel to Cleveland Clinic to have Dr. Gillinov do my surgery. There are several centers of excellence around the country with excellent outcomes. Is it the Gilbert in AZ or another state?

Chiew Kwooi Lee Hi, i had similar condition (Mitral valve regurgitation) and i have scheduled for a robotically assis ... Read more

Chiew Kwooi Lee Hi, i had similar condition (Mitral valve regurgitation) and i have scheduled for a robotically assisted mitral valve repair by Dr. Douglas Murphy of Emory St. Joseph this April. Dr Murphy has done 2100 similar procedures and he is definitely one of the 'expert' in this. I am convinced that i have found the best surgeon for myself. All the best to your wife.

Eric Prock Lisa had her surgery on July 19th. Thank you all for your suggestions. Unfortunately, the Mayo Clinic ... Read more

Eric Prock Lisa had her surgery on July 19th. Thank you all for your suggestions. Unfortunately, the Mayo Clinic was not on our Healthnet PPO plan so we opted for Dr. Robert Riley, who had high marks on Castle Connolly (among others) who performed a minimally invasive procedure at Honor Health in Scottsdale. The surgery went well although there were post-surgical issues with raising her blood pressure to an acceptable level and a bad reaction to a dopamine medication they tried before finding something that worked.

The post-surgery support after her release was atrocious but that's a tale for another time. We do have an issue with tachycardia that requires attention but I'll post about that in a separate post.

Anyhow, thanks again for responding.

Phyllis Petersen I'm glad to hear she had a successful surgery, but sorry that she's having continued issues. Stay on ... Read more

Phyllis Petersen I'm glad to hear she had a successful surgery, but sorry that she's having continued issues. Stay on top of the tachycardia. Be the squeaky wheel until you get the assistance you need. Lisa's heart is too important!

Dan Marcantel Eric sorry to hear Mayo was not in your network. May pre and post op was outstanding I wish it would ... Read more

Dan Marcantel Eric sorry to hear Mayo was not in your network. May pre and post op was outstanding I wish it would have gone better for you at Honor. I had my 1st cardiologist try and push me there. I reviewed them and heard some bad stuff so I went to Mayo and glad I did.