Tammy's Journal

Ana Brusso  Great and positive post Tammy. So glad your recovery is going well. Please take it one day at a time. Continued good health and God bless you 🙏❤️

David Carney  Hi Tammy, so happy to hear you're back home and feeling so well.  It sure is amazing how quickly one can bounce back from major open-heart surgery.  All credit to Dr. Gerdisch and his emphasis on a speedy recovery for even us sternotomy patients.  In addition the nursing care at St. Francis was fantastic, very caring, extremely competent and empathetic.  Keep up the good work on your cardiac rehab!  I'm about half way through my program and it's made a huge difference.  Anyway it warms my old repaired heart to hear you're doing great!

Maria DeMarco  Hi Tammy so glad to hear you are having a great recovery 😀 I am not too far from you ,just south of SRQ. I wanted to ask you how you decided between Dr Gillinov and Dr Gerdisch?

Michael Smith  Tammy, glad to hear your recovery is doing well. Sounds like your experience with Dr. Gerdisch was awesome too.

Tammy Gonzalez  Maria, CC was one of the places I went for initial consults. I did have all my testing done there. I might have considered Dr. Gillinov earlier on, but his office told me that he was only doing minimally invasive surgery and passed off to someone else (we were not a good fit). When I met Dr. Gerdisch, I just knew he was the one for me. I felt it in my soul. I don't regret my decision at all. Plus, the rigid sternal fixation made all the difference in my rapid recovery I believe. 3 weeks out and I feel WAY better than I ever expected to feel at this point. 

Corey Potter  That is great news.  I'm headed there tomorrow for a TEE and second opinion.  Best wishes in your recovery.  

David Carney  Hi Tammy, so glad to hear the surgery went so well and Dr. G was able to repair as opposed to replacing valves.  Awesome news on the aorta and getting things unblocked.  He sure is a brilliant surgeon with a down to earth, humble attitude.  It'll take a bit to get your strength back, but after that initial period you bounce back so fast, it's miraculous.  Keep up with the walking and when you get back home, cardiac rehab as it's made a huge difference for this old geezer!  (((Big Healing Hugs)))

Robert Miller  Congrats! Glad to hear the great results. It was also my experience that they give you the worst case scenario but then actually are able to fix things rather than replace, etc. 

David Carney  Hi Tammy, did you make it back home yet?  How are things going so far?  Slow and steady is the way to go!  Best wishes in your recovery!

Tammy Gonzalez  Hi David. Yes I made it home on Saturday April 12th. My daughter spent the week with me. I saw my PCP on Thursday. Everything is great. I'm back to pounding the treadmill again. I spiked a little fever a couple of late afternoons right after I got back home, but it seemed to resolve pretty quickly on its own. I'm really surprised at how well I feel so quickly. I'm still a little sore (mostly my mid-back), but otherwise really good and very thankful. How are YOU? You're almost 3 months out now?

Robert Miller  Best of luck. Recovery the first few days is a pain with all the wires. But I was looking forward to it to get things fixed... Just me being me, I tried to stay awake as long as I could after they gave me the anesthesia. I didn't last very long... and then I woke up being all better...

Deena Z  Almost there Tammy.  Soon to be in recovery.   You will be beyond exhausted, which is normal. When you wake up from surgery and the ICU nurse gleefully says: “let’s get you up and out of bed”, you will be saying to yourself seriously?!  It’s the universal recovery drill and after several days you will be amazed at how much more you can do. Godspeed.

David Carney  Hi Tammy, glad to hear your PreOp went well and they took great care of you.  Diana walked me through the process and even checked in on me after my operation while I recovered.  The waiting part was the most difficult for me and it was almost a relief to finally have the day come, so as you put it, you're more than ready to put it all behind you and start your path of full recovery.  Best of luck and give my best regards to Dr. Gerdisch!

Sue Maize  Praying for you Tammy—at this moment you are probably in the midst of your surgery so I’m praying God’s leading hand guiding your team. 🙏🏻❤️‍🩹 when you wake up you’ll be all better but you won’t feel like it—my instructions to myself post-op were “Receive, rest and recover” God bless you! ❤️🙏🏻

Rose Madura  Hi Tammy. You do have a lot going on and I can't blame you for being concerned. But you said it yourself, you have "all the confidence in the world" in your surgeon. He will do his best for you.  Try to focus on the 90% success rate rather than the opposite.  Where did you find these odds? It's amazing what can be done in 2025. Please keep us updated. Godspeed.

Barry Brasseaux  Hi Tammy.  You have many things to think about regarding your surgery but the good news is that they can take care of you with a great outcome.  I am sure you will feel much better after the surgery.  Happy to answer any questions you may have.  I have been through heart surgery twice.  Sending positive energy your way.

Pamela Gregory  Rose has wonderful advice. Focus on the 90% success rate! Also what are your odds without the surgery? You are at one of the best heart hospitals in the world and need to keep focused on a positive result

Deena Z  Tammy, given your super healthy life style, did your doctors suggest all of this might have genetic links?  I am sure they asked about your familial cardiac history, right?
Did CC also say 10 percent? Seems high. 

Tammy Gonzalez  Cleveland Clinic noted that I was a "high risk" surgery. They never mentioned it to me during my consult, it was on my notes and I found it after the visit. The surgeon I decided to go with (who is not at CC) told me he "plugged in the numbers" and I had a 10% mortality rate. I asked him outright and he already had the info written down. I'm sure there is a genetic component, but my dad didn't have his first bypass until mid 60s (died of myocardial infarct at 76). My mother died at 80 of a hemorrhagic stroke. So, nothing exceptionally young in my family. You hear of much younger. 

Rita Savelis  I had triple valve surgery (replacement of aortic and mitral valves and reinforcement of the tricuspid) in 2015. I was 53. My heart valves had stenosis because of radiation and chemo for childhood cancer. That was considered high risk. I trusted my surgeon because he does these kinds of surgeries. I didn't worry about surgery but more about whether I was strong enough to deal with an exhausting recovery. And I was. "Mortality rates" are just numbers. Try to focus on how amazing your surgeons are. If they didn't think you could do this, they'd say so.

Deena Z  Tammy, Wasn't that 10 percent calculation based on similar surgeries  performed by an undefined universe of surgeons and hospitals?  I assume a national data base was used.  This would mean surgeons that were average, below average and excellent were all included in the10 percent calculation.  You might want to ask your surgeon what exactly his/her risk level is, but you have already decided so this may not be worthwhile.  If he/she is outstanding, then risk level ought to be lower.  

Kimberly Eisenhut  Tammy, I was told the same thing when I spoke to them last year. There are some surgeons that have studied under him that are at Northwestern also. I go to Northwestern for my Tricuspid regurgitation, which is now almost to the severe point. I go every 6 months now and am still in wait and watch mode. I completely understand how you feel, as tricuspid is difficult to find more outcome inflrmation and it is not as common as other valves. I have spoken to Dr Malaisrie, who studied under Dr McCarthy, and he is very knowledgable. There are others I want to speak to at Northwestern also, as my insurance will only cover me for my surgery locally, so my options ar limited. I am grateful though, that I live only 90 minutes from the city. I also go to Northwestern in McHenry and Huntley in Illinois, which are all connected to the same network. I would call Northwestern and speak to the cardiac dept and ask any questions and for the surgeon with the most experience in tricuspid surgeries. I will be doing the same soon. I want to be prepared when they tell me it is time. My cardiac specialist is Dr Rigolin who is also with Northwestern downtown. I was transferred to her from my regular cardiologist 6 years ago when my trisucpid went from mild to moderate/severe. It has stayed relativeily the same so far. I will try to help if I can with any other questions about Northwestern.

Tammy Gonzalez  Good luck to you Kimberly. I'm looking at Dr. Johnston right now. I found out he's actually from  Cleveland Clinic. He gets great reviews. Like you, I'm not finding much information on tricuspid repair/replacement, or long term outcomes. My whole adventure started with persistent afib which is currently resolved, but I'll always wonder if the afib caused the valve issues or if the valve issues caused the afib. 

Kimberly Eisenhut  Good to know anout Dr Johnston. I did see another person here that used him and had a great experience. There are quite a few Drs at Northwestern that came from Cleveland Clinic.

  Dr. Kevin Hodges, a partner of Dr. McCarthy will be doing my surgery on Valentine’s Day. He is featured in a number of videos posted through this forum. You can do a search on his name at the top of the home page. Best wishes. ❤️❤️❤️

Margaret Fielden  I would be very interested to hear about peoples' experiences with mitral valve replacement and tricuspid repair too. My surgery for both will take place on October 5th. Not long now!

Rita Savelis  I had my aortic and mitral valves replaced in 2015 and my tricuspid reinforced. I did not know that my tricuspid was worked on (until after surgery) but my surgeon said that he always looks at the tricuspid because work on the mitral can make the tricuspid change in the future.

Margaret Fielden  My surgeon is repairing the tricuspid along with mitral valve replacement on October 5th. Your story was so helpful Rita, I wish you well

Margaret Fielden  Hi Tammy, My surgery was cancelled as I came down with covid the day of admission. It will be in 4 to 6 weeks at Royal Papworth Hosiptal in Cambridge UK.  I hope you get the best help and treatment.

Valerie Allen  Hi Tammy -my surgeon was Dr Roselli at CC. He is an aorta specialist so probably not your guy, I’m guessing. I can highly recommend both him and CC. They have their act really together and the system and support is smoothly run.

Valerie Allen  I did travel. I had to fly through Atlanta with a layover both ways. I requested wheelchair assistance both ways though probably didn’t need it going up. I definitely needed it returning. For the return trip we got first class tickets and that also helped a whole lot as we boarded and got off immediately. It was rather grueling but not nearly as bad as I thought making those arrangements.

Valerie Allen  I think Dr Gillanov is often mentioned here for mitral valve but I’m sure there are others. I’m sure others will jump in.

Suelynn Hanegraaf  Dr Tomislav Mihaljevic was my CC heart surgeon for my first aortic valve replacement in 2011.  Excellent but since 2018, he heads CC as their president  & CEO. The vice chair of CC’s cardio-thoracic surgery dept - Doug Johnston, MD - was recruited by Northwestern Medicine in Chicago last year and is chair of NM’s cardiac surgery dept. Dr Johnston did my second AVR in April of this year. Excellent as well!

Ana Kelton-Brand  Hi Tammy, I live in northern Broward County and had considered Cleveland Clinic in Weston, but I heard that the top heart valve surgeons are in Cleveland, not Weston.  I did want to stay local for my surgery, so I had my heart surgery at the University of Miami.  I had a mitral valve repair, an aortic valve replacement, and replacement of the ascending aorta at the end of December, 2023.  The surgeon was Dr. Joseph Lamelas, who did all of it through minimally invasive surgery.  The care at University of Miami was excellent.  He has a great team.

George Gardopee  Hi Tammy. I went to the Cleveland Clinic to have Dr Gillinov repair my mitral valve (and my tricuspid valve at the same time). I had an excellent experience at the CC.  I didn’t have to go far as I live in the Pittsburgh area so I can’t comment much about long distance travel.  We went the AirBnB route for the stay in Cleveland but I think a hotel may be a better choice.  I detailed my experience in my journal, so I won’t repeat it here, but I can highly recommend Dr Gillinov and the CC. 

Robert Miller  Dr. Gillinov was my number 1 choice but it didn't work out logistically. He is very well known for minimal invasive surgery and generally considered a very accomplished surgeon. Make sure that he is actually doing the surgery. He is also hard to reach. I actually liked a smaller local hospital with a very experienced surgeon. Just something to consider. 

Brady Busch  Hi Tammy,this is a good site for support and information.
There is a SURGEON FINDER link to click on,that will list different ways,to learn about these doctors and their specialties.

Robert Miller  This site has a list of surgeons. If you are open to travel, then you obviously have a much larger selection. Open heart surgery? Minimal invasive surgery? Ask how many such SPECIFIC surgeries they did. Will they do they surgery? Some "famous" surgeons at universities and other places have other surgeons do the work while they are supervising/observing the surgery. 
https://www.heart-valve-surgery.com/surgeon-database/home.php

Grace Mason   Hi Tammy,
I have seen Dr Adams at Mt Sinai, Dr Gerdisch in Indianapolis and Dr. Gillinov at CC mentioned as top mitral valve surgeons. I'm sure there are other highly recommended surgeons that someone may chime in about, but those names might be a place to start.

J Alexander Lassally  Hi there. I read your post. Best way to start organically is recognize that there are around 25-30 mitral valve reference surgeons in the US. These are high volume and have high excellence in outcomes. I have researched this EXTENSIVELY for my surgery.  (high volume is more than 60 a year, preferably more than 100.  High quality is somewhere >90 to 95% success. I don't recall specifics.)
The closest is Sarasota, but that doctor is a DO not an MD which was noteworthy to me. Miami is a center, too, but they do it "their way" which is not the same as the big classic hospitals in the Midwest and Northeast... You will have to get familiar with plusses and minuses of Steronotomy and Thoracotomy - the two different main approaches, and be prepared to be told each is superior by respective surgeons !  Happy to guide. 

J Alexander Lassally  And know that the surgeons on here are partially matched with the reference centers, and partial not. So there are only 25-30 reference centers in the US

Delise Becker  Hi, Tammy. As others have said, this is a great site for starting your research. Many folks on this site traveled to have their surgeries. I chose to stay close to home and had my surgery in Austin, TX. September 26 will be my one-year "valveaversary," and I am feeling wonderful and couldn't be more pleased with my surgical outcome. (Had a mitral replacement, tricuspid repair and atrial appendage clipped.) I noticed in your bio that you are in the Tampa, FL, area. There is a Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville, and it has a cardiovascular program. You might want to check them out as well, since that would be closer to home for you: https://www.mayoclinic.org/departments-centers/cardiovascular-medicine-florida/overview/ovc-20557804Best of luck to you!

Chris Hall  This community truly got me through 2 open heart surgeries.  You're in the right place. We've all been where you are.  Good luck