Matthew Boyer - Heart Valve Journal

My Journal

2 days ago

Geoff Curtis reacted to this

Came home from the hospital yesterday. My Surgery was April 1st. Feeling pretty good. Some pain in the chest from surgery. The nerve block is still working ...Read more

Came home from the hospital yesterday. My Surgery was April 1st. Feeling pretty good. Some pain in the chest from surgery. The nerve block is still working so we will see how it feels when it wears off. Walked around the block. I had to stop twice and rest but otherwise felt ok.

John Cook That’s amazing. Congratulations. It was a few days before I could get off my street.

Richard Munson Now eat some ham

Ana Brusso Welcome to recovery. Continued good health and God bless you 🙏❤️

Peggy Bennett Congrats and good luck with your recovery! Patience is not easy, but it's important (as I'm still lea ... Read more

Peggy Bennett Congrats and good luck with your recovery! Patience is not easy, but it's important (as I'm still learning 2 months post op).

Peggy Bennett I just saw that you also had Dr. Chikwe — she's the best!! (And Vivian ❤️) Did you have robotic ... Read more

Peggy Bennett I just saw that you also had Dr. Chikwe — she's the best!! (And Vivian ❤️) Did you have robotic surgery? Mine was Feb. 4. I'm finally feeling really good now. Wishing you all the best!

Matthew Boyerposted an update

4 days ago

Day two post surgery. I have to keep the chest tube in another day. Otherwise, the pain is pretty well controlled. Hopefully, I get the chest tube removed ...Read more

Day two post surgery. I have to keep the chest tube in another day. Otherwise, the pain is pretty well controlled. Hopefully, I get the chest tube removed tomorrow and then I can go home.

Marie Myers Wow, you are doing great to be posting already! Welcome to recovery!!

Pamela Gregory Doing great! I hope the tube is out now, you will be a lot more comfortable

Rose Madura You will feel better once the chest tube is removed. Glad all is well.

Matthew Boyerposted an update

6 days ago

Fidel Martínez Ruiz, Pamela Gregory, Kathy Blank reacted to this

I made it through surgery!! Everything went well. They were able to do everything with the minimally invasive technique. We chose this to give me the best ...Read more

I made it through surgery!! Everything went well. They were able to do everything with the minimally invasive technique. We chose this to give me the best chance for a quicker recover (instead of an open thoracotomy procedure). I am feeling pretty good now. I was having a lot of discomfort on the right side of my chest but it is finally feeling a little better. Thank you for this site. It definitely helped me through the process.

Kathy Blank That is great news Matthew! Hope your recovery goes well. Remember to allow yourself time to rest dur ... Read more

Kathy Blank That is great news Matthew! Hope your recovery goes well. Remember to allow yourself time to rest during recovery! Hope you are able to have some time off to
allow yourself to heal!

Rose Madura Wonderful news!

J Alexander Lassally I am curious if you will have arrythmias develop post surgery. Many a robot patient do. Sometimes del ... Read more

J Alexander Lassally I am curious if you will have arrythmias develop post surgery. Many a robot patient do. Sometimes delayed. Let us know.

Matthew Boyerposted an update

9 days ago

Has anyone had mitral valve repair with Dr. Joanna Chikwe MD in Los Angeles? How was your experience?

Robert Miller I have not but if you would be willing to travel to Northern CA, Dr. Castro is excellent. Very highly ... Read more

Robert Miller I have not but if you would be willing to travel to Northern CA, Dr. Castro is excellent. Very highly rated. And when I went for a consultation with him, he took all the time I needed. I went in with a list of question printed on paper. It was a casual conversation (as casual as discussing heart surgery can be) and at the end, he asked me if he could look at my list of question, just to make sure we covered everything. The staff was also very friendly. If you look for minimal invasive surgery, Dr. Gillinov is highly rated but I found him hard to reach.

Valerie Allen Go to the SurgeonFinder on the top right menu and read her reviews. She has been positively mentioned ... Read more

Valerie Allen Go to the SurgeonFinder on the top right menu and read her reviews. She has been positively mentioned on here.

Matthew Boyerposted a photo

20 days ago

Susan Lynn, Pamela Gregory reacted to this

Hiking is my happy place!

Robert Miller Looks beautiful. Being out in nature is always the best. Just came back from Italy, San Marino and Sw ... Read more

Robert Miller Looks beautiful. Being out in nature is always the best. Just came back from Italy, San Marino and Switzerland (carnival time in Luzern is the best). Going to a couple of countries in Asia in a couple of weeks. Then a heart monitor before going to Switzerland. And then maybe Japan and Switzerland later in the year... I love the mountains...

Fidel Martínez Ruiz Beautiful landscape. Rocky Mountains perhaps? I love mountains as well. Every saturday a group of fr... Read more

Fidel Martínez Ruiz Beautiful landscape. Rocky Mountains perhaps? I love mountains as well. Every saturday a group of friends here go hiking in the mountains around Madrid (Spain) and three times a year go to the Pyrenees or Sierra Nevada to spend four or five days hiking. I think that walking at free air in nature is the best for our heart, in addition very gratifying for mental well being. There you have a lot of mountains in many states and must be great.

Robert Miller San Gabriel Mountains in SoCal. Not much snow on the West coast this year but still beautiful. @Fidel ... Read more

Robert Miller San Gabriel Mountains in SoCal. Not much snow on the West coast this year but still beautiful. @Fidel I used to ski in the Sierra Nevada for many years. Thinking about it, it's actually when I had the first signs. I used to be able to keep up with teenagers but suddenly couldn't. I thought I am just getting old...

Fidel Martínez Ruiz Thanks Robert, I also used to ski but stopped because a meniscus-ligaments injury and then I began ... Read more

Fidel Martínez Ruiz Thanks Robert, I also used to ski but stopped because a meniscus-ligaments injury and then I began with hiking. Every one here have own our stories. In my case, symptoms appeared suddenly but very very subtly (endocarditis), with slight fever and mild tiredness. GP prescribed a general antibiotic thinking it was a common cold and then I kept on with my mountain hikes but in one week, signs returned and I even couldn´t stand up from the armchair. I went with my wife to the ER and stayed in the hospital two weeks and other two weeks at home with antibiotics (against the streptoccocus viridans). Three months later, I had the valve replacement. After my recovery, I found this unique and great page and people.

J Alexander Lassally Great mountain scene. Where exactly is this - Wyoming? Secondly, I am curious why you want Cedars? ... Read more

J Alexander Lassally Great mountain scene. Where exactly is this - Wyoming? Secondly, I am curious why you want Cedars? They were incredibly rude and "flaky" to me as an out of state patient when I explored that institution - complete with factually incorrect insurance information. I quickly moved on. Maybe you will have a better experience. It is all about easy insurance reimbursement and money to them !

Matthew Boyer The photo is just north of Las Vegas by Charleston Peak. My experience was completely different. Th ... Read more

Matthew Boyer The photo is just north of Las Vegas by Charleston Peak. My experience was completely different. They were very helpful. However, I called every other day to make sure it was going smoothly. I did have some difficulty getting my images sent to them, but that was more with my local hospital. I researched several places and watched numerous videos and felt Dr. Chikwe and I had similar views on how we treat patients. I am scheduled for surgery April 1st. I will let you know how it goes.

Matthew Boyerposted an update

20 days ago

Just found out that I have severe mitral regurgitation and will need surgery. It was a surprise. I am going to try and go to Cedars Sinai for the repair. ...Read more

Just found out that I have severe mitral regurgitation and will need surgery. It was a surprise. I am going to try and go to Cedars Sinai for the repair.

Robert Miller That sounds pretty familiar. If you have time, get a couple of opinions and look into minimal invasiv ... Read more

Robert Miller That sounds pretty familiar. If you have time, get a couple of opinions and look into minimal invasive surgery Also check the learning center https://www.heart-valve-surgery.com/learning-center.php