Recent content by plsflgood

My mom was told to have an AVR awhile ago, but she was hesitant because of her kidney disease. Now her heart condition has deteriorated, and she needs to have an AVR. She asked about the transcatheter procedure (TAVR), and was told that it is reserved only for patients who are way more sick than...

Thanks dick0236, I know all this information. What I was curious about is how much charges for the valve replacement were actually attributed to part B. Some real life story, I mean.

Has anybody had an aortic valve replacement surgery while on the Original Medicare (without a supplemental plan) ? What were the out of pocket expenses ?

> You could look into catheter-placed valve Thanks for your reply. She has been told that she is not high enough risk to have the catheter-placed valve. Is there a clinic where we could choose this type of surgery ourselves ? Her kidneys are not in a great shape, so she may benefit from it.

My 75yo mom has been DXed with AV stenosis and regurgitation, but she is procrastinating with the surgery because she does not have clear symptoms like fatigue, fainting, difficulty catching breath, and she can walk long distances (2 miles). She does have symptoms of some congestive heart...

Is there a place where we could find statistics of the outcomes for a specific surgeon ? And what online doctor's rating sites are the most reliable ? We are thinking to go with a certain surgeon, he is highly rated by avvo.com (this is avvo's own, now patient's, ratings), but he got one very...

It has been mentioned that new internships start in July. But are those interns leaving a few months later, or staying for long time ? It looks to me that an intern would still be an intern - be it July or January :)

Thanks for your replies. Do you know what antibiotic regimen is recommended for the tooth extraction prior to the surgery ?

Is there a limitation on how soon an AVR can be performed after a tooth has been extracted ? Does a pre-surgery extraction require antibiotics ?

Of course, the decision about whether to undergo an AVR, or not, is based on overall assessment, which is based on many tests etc. But still, which test provides the most information to make a decision: 1. Echo cardiogram 2. Angiogram (including lung pressure measurement) 3. Patient's symptoms...

I think it is recognized that a flu season is not the best time to have AVR, because flu could easily become life-threatening if caught shortly after the surgery. Is the same true for hot summer months, when some stomach bug could be more likely ? We live in Northern California, where summers...

Is transcatheter aortic-valve replacement available in US ? According to some studies, it dramatically reduced the incidence of kidney injuries: http://www.theheart.org/article/1040381.do

Yes, basically my question boils down to: is there a way to figure out whether the renal failure is caused by the bad valve, or not ? That would decide whether the surgery is needed.

My 74yo mom had CKD stage 3 for several years. 4 months ago she was told she needs AVR due to stenosis and regurgitation. She was procrastinating, though, afraid of the procedure. All of a sudden, her GFR went down to 25, over the course of about 1 month. So the question is: should she now be in...

As any major dental procedure becomes more risky after an AVR surgery (chance of the valve infection), obviously, all pending dental issues better be resolved before the surgery. My question is: what other health conditions are better be taken care of before an AVR surgery, rather than after it ?