JC Fong - Heart Valve Journal

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JC Fongposted an update

821 days ago

Post-surgery monitoring at home. If you go to a major center (Cedars-Sinai, Cleveland, Mayo) for surgery and then after you are discharged you return ...Read more

Post-surgery monitoring at home. If you go to a major center (Cedars-Sinai, Cleveland, Mayo) for surgery and then after you are discharged you return to your home in another city, how do you find a cardiologist to monitor you? Is a run-of-the-mill cardiologist able to monitor a post-surgical patient appropriately?

Richard Munson I was operated on in boston at mass general and returned there every 6 months for an echo and cardiol ... Read more

Richard Munson I was operated on in boston at mass general and returned there every 6 months for an echo and cardiologist consultation. It was a grueling 2 hour drive. Sometimes i only saw his nurse practitioner and not him. My local cardiologist i find is very capable and does his own echo so i decided to allow him to perform the echo and interpret the results. I had him also prior to my surgery. My mass general cardiologist was my second opinion before the surgery. They can also link up to each other if need be. Confidence in your local person is the key. The doctor that actually performs the echo on me locally presents the results to the cardiologist who looks it over and comments during my visit. I get to see the results as well on my portal access. I compare the readings myself being anal about my health, and if i see anything that looks different, i mention it when we meet. So far it has worked. My local guy is a 10 minute drive.

Susan Lynn JC - I had surgery near Philadelphia and treated with my own cardiologist at home. I had a one-mon... Read more

Susan Lynn JC - I had surgery near Philadelphia and treated with my own cardiologist at home. I had a one-month and a one-year follow up with the surgeon, but he didn't need to see me after that. You may even be able to do a tele-visit unless you're having an issue. Please keep us posted.

Marie Myers Yes, a cardiologist in your home town can monitor you. With a no complications surgery, the surgeon w ... Read more

Marie Myers Yes, a cardiologist in your home town can monitor you. With a no complications surgery, the surgeon will discharge you in a week or two. You wouldn’t need to see the surgeon again.

Ana Brusso Do your research on local cardiologist. I chose one outside my area in Los Angeles and have to drive ... Read more

Ana Brusso Do your research on local cardiologist. I chose one outside my area in Los Angeles and have to drive a couple of hours but he is worth it.

Pamela Gregory I had surgery at the Cleveland Clinic in October but live in Delaware. I went back after approximat... Read more

Pamela Gregory I had surgery at the Cleveland Clinic in October but live in Delaware. I went back after approximately 8 weeks to have an echo and see the cardiologist, then again in March to have a CT scan and see the surgeon. I will go back again around December to see both one more time to make sure everything is good. - For me, I was incredibly blessed to have my sister in law living 30 mins from CC. I could recover at her house and I use my Dr appts as a combo family trip! I believe you can use local Dr.s to do these tests and read them or maybe they could send the results to the hospital you choose. You can make it work, so go where you have confidence that they will do the best work. Believing in your team is one of the most important things in my opinion. You don't want a convenient choice to be a regret. That being said, there are a lot of talented wonderful surgeons out there just make sure you do your research and feel good about your choice.