mitral valve repair

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delcar

Hi** I'm new to this forum. My Heart doctor informed me Thursday my mitral valve is moderate to severe, leaning to the severe side. I got a pacemaker in feb 2007. Then had a ablation in nov. 2007. At that time the valve was in the moderate range. The chambers are becoming enlarged. He told me investigate a repair and to choose a doctor. I live in so. california, so i'm looking at UCLA. The sites I've been able to find point me to Dr. Richard J. Shemin. Has anyone had him do their repair? Or do you know of another Dr. at UCLA? I'm looking at the robotic method. What do I need to ask in the way of questions?* Thanks For Your Help Dave
 
Welcome aboard Dave. I don't know about the surgeon, but the location is excellent. Hang in there partner, it's slow on the weekends around here, but others will be along to address the rest. :)
 
I can't help you with choosing a surgeon as I'm in Canada. I just wanted to welcome you to VR. Glad you found us. I had a mitral valve repair done, but it was a full OHS by Dr. Tirone David in Toronto. Best wishes and good luck.
 
Hello!,

I had a miral repair with the surgeon using the DaVinci Surgical System for much of the procedure. Operation (Feb of this year) went well as has the recovery.I was told I had a 10% chance of a repair but using the robot they were able to make the repair.I was back at work (desk job) 3 weeks after surgery. Best of luck. Keep asking questions.Someone at VR will have an answer.
 
Thanks for the reply. Glad to hear you are doing well. Where did you have it done at? I don't know much about this. Do they stop your heart and put you on a pump during the repair? How long were you in the hospital? Dave
 
Welcome
I live on the opposite coast.. I had my MV repair at the Univ. of MD 2 years ago. The surgeon does not use robotics, but he is amazing, and specializes in min. inv. mv repair.
I had the full sternotomy with mine, but he was able to repair a very complex valve.
UCLA is a Great place to go, and as Ross said I am sure that you will get some wonderful feedback here.
Welcome to the community!
 
Thanks for the welcome. My doctor placed a call to UCLA late friday afternoon, to refer me. Hope I hear something Monday. I;m anxious to get more information on my condition. My heart doctor kind of caught me off guard, with this mitral valve news. Didn't get too many questions in.
 
Same happened to me. My cardio had been watching my mitral valve for a few years and suddenly it went bad very fast. He knocked me off my feet when he told me a needed a second OHS.

Thankfully, I've done fine and am going on four months post op. My surgeon hoped to do a repair but it wasn't possible. We discussed valve choice 'just in case' and he placed a bovine valve. All is well!

Happy you found us but sorry for the reason. Hope you get more answers soon.
 
Thanks for wecome. Glad to hear your doing well. My brother got a bovine valve when he was 60, he is 78 now and doing well. One thing my cardo did tell me was that I had little calcification, and my last anginogram was clear. So I was a good candidate for repair. I'll keep my fingers crossed on that.
 
We've seen a lot of 'good press' about Dr. Raissi at Cedars Sinai in California.

Whoever you choose, be sure to have a Backup Plan, 'just in case' the repair is not viable or does not work. More than one of our members fell into that situation.

'AL Capshaw'
 
Thanks Al Good advice! I'm hoping someone on the forum has used Dr. Shemin at UCLA. As UCLA is only about 100 miles away from my home. They have the new Ronald Reagan hosipital opening the first part of July. Supposed to be state of the art.
 
I got* appt. to see Dr. Shemin July 16th. I'll find more about it then. In the meantime I'm also going to check out replacement valves, which type is best. Just in case!
 
Hi I'm still hoping to hear from someone with experience with Dr. Shemin at UCLA. Thanks Dave
 
Thanks Blanche I have read this information. And have a consultation with Dr. Shemin on July 16th. Just seems like he wears a lot of hats.
 
Been there - done that

Been there - done that

Delcar, Welcome to a great site. It helped me thru a mitral valve replacement in July of last year. I'm in the midwest and had a superb surgical team at Rush Copley Hospital in Aurora, Il. UCLA is a great place for heart issues. Be sure to let us know how things go for you.:)
 
Dave,

Sorry for the delay in answering your question. I was on a heart/lung machine about 4-5 hours. Surgery lasted from 8:30am to 5pm..but for me it went by in the blink of an eye.:)The surgery was done at the Medical Center of Central Ga in Macon,Ga.
 
Hi I'm Still Hoping To Learn About Anyones Experience With Ucla, And Mitral Valve Repair. Or Dr. Shemin At Ucla. Dave
 
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