Will I ever have Mitral Valve Surgery

[Harmony]

Today I called my surgeons office to find out when I was scheduled for surgery. They said you come in the 8th of Jan and Surgery is the 9th. So I then asked about the letter the Surgeon had written to my Cardio.The surgeon I saw at NYU is the head of Thorasic Surgery there and has a great reputation. He wrote my Cardio a letter saying that he had seen me in consultation on 10/22 , I was a nice lady with a history of myocardial infarction. I know this means a heart attack. I have never had a heart attack and no doctor ever told me I had one I rarely get palps. I called his office to find out why he said this and never heard from them until today. The Surgeons Aide said that he felt after going over the Angiogram I had decreased wall motion of my heart Which is something people with heart attacks have. My Cardio is away until next week. I spoke to another Cardio in his office who told me there is nothing in my records about heart attacks or decreased wall motion of my heart.I have severe regurg or severe insufficiency and probably pulmonary hypertension. When my Cardio showed me the letter from the surgeon he thought it was funny. I felt at the time he should have called the surgeon and asked him what 'history of heart attacks" he is talking about. I can not call the surgeon because he would never speak to me. Now I dont know what to do. I remember the Doctor who did the Angiogram say to me the only thing really wrong is I need surgery for my MV. I dont know any other Cardios as I have been seeing mine for 10 years. I have the films of the angiogram and last echo and show it to another Cardio if I knew one, I am really frightened and dont know what to do

 

[Herburban1]

Can you talk to the surgeon's secretary? They can give him the message and you can say how nervous you are. My surgeon's secretary is awesome.

 

[sparklette77]

Geez that is very frustrating. How about going to see other heart surgeons in the city? There are many others that you can go consult with. I know as I visited about 5 of them. Let me know if you want some other names. I also went to NYU for a consult and met with the head of their cardiothoracic department but didn't feel comfortable with him. I did really like one of his nurses though--she was awesome. But the doctor I felt was not giving me enough info and I knew that b/c I had already seen a few other docs before him and was able to compare.

 

[Harmony]

Sparklette

Sparklette

I have visited 4 surgeons including Dr. Adams. I was not really crazy about any of them. My Cardio is afiliated with Lenox Hill but he does not like any of the surgeons there. He should be back on Monday can not wait to talk to him. I am really firghtened. I dont understand how Dr. G. wrote in his letter to my Cardio that I have a history of heart attacks . I am sure I would know if I had one and especially a history of them. I would appreciate the names of the surgeons you have. I will talk to my Cardio about them. I read you were operated on a few weeks ago, hope you are getting better every day.

 

[sparklette77]

Thanks---I certainly am getting better every day. Here is the list of who I visited:

David Adams--Mount Sinai
Len Girardi--Weill Cornell
Mehmet Oz--Columbia Presbyterian
Aubrey Gallagher--NYU
Michael Banbury--Christiania Care (in Delaware not NYC)

I ultimately chose Dr. Adams b/c he has the most experience repairing mitral valves and because I wanted the sternectomy approach. If you search my name you will find other threads of mine discussing the sternectomy (chest) approach versus the thoracotomy (side) approach. I also thought Dr. Girardi and Dr. Kreiger at Weill Cornell were wonderful and I know they have a lot of experience with fixing mitral valves also.

A lot of people on this site will tell you that ultimately what matters is how often a surgeon has done exactly the type of surgery that you need. Getting your medical history wrong IS a serious concern and one that you are clearly stressed about so I would strongly suggest getting a different surgeon that you have confidence in.

 

[ALCapshaw2]

I can certainly understand your concern about going to a surgeon who got your history wrong!

I see a couple of options:

1- Contact the Surgeon's office (Office Manager, Nurse, Physician's Assistant), tell them your concern, and ask for an explanation of his apparently erroneous impression. You could also write a letter asking him for an explanation, but that could take more time if it is just 'stuck in his incoming stack of mail'.

2 - Go Surgeon Shopping until you find one you feel comfortable with.

Best Wishes !

'AL Capshaw'

 

[Harmony]

Al I have tried to speak to the Surgeon but his staff (sectretary, office manager) will not let me talk to him they say he is in surgery. My Cardio that the surgeon sent the letter to is away and will not be back till next week. When I spoke to the Surgeons Secretary or office Manager she told me the surgeon had gotten the info that I had a history of prior myocardial infarction from the Angiogram I brought him. The Angio was done on 10/2, so it is at least 3 months that I have had a MI or HA. I gave him film of 2 echos, and the angiogram. Also a written report of the Angiogram. We spoke to the Surgeon about an hour. He never mentioned to me that the Angio showed HA's It shows severe regug , Pul Hyp and no coronary artery disease. If my Cardio had called him when he received the letter I would not be going through all this. I dont know what to do. Do people walk around with heart attacks for months. My Cardio should be back on Monday I hope as I really need help.

 

[Harmony]

sparklette77

sparklette77

I have been to 3 of the 4 surgeons you mentioned. My neighbor was a patient of Dr. Kreigers. These are all good doctors . I might have to re visit someone although I was not that happy with any of them.

 

[sparklette77]

If you are willing to go out of state you could try to see Dr. Banbury who heads the cardiothoriacic dept at Christiana Care in Delaware. He trained at the Cleveland Clinic which is routinely cited as one of the best heart centers in the country. I'm not sure why you didn't like any of the other docs you saw in nyc but it doesn't sound like you are happy with the one you picked either. Also I'm not sure how much a surgeon's personality should weigh into the equation as long as you are comfortable that the surgeon knows what they are doing and will do the best job for you.

 

[ALCapshaw2]

There is such a thing as a "silent heart attack" whereby the patient may be unaware that they have had a heart attack.

That said, your cardio should have also picked up on it.

Personally, if I were not comfortable with a surgeon for any reason, I would look for another.

If your reason for not being comfortable with ANY of the surgeons you have interviewed is because you really don't want to have surgery, then you really need to reassess your condition so that you either understand the need for surgery and proceed, or decide that surgery is not warranted and discontinue the process.