TakeStock
Well-known member
Well, I was already to post something about my new surgeon, who I saw yesterday. As I mentioned in prior posts I got a referral from my cardio for a second opinion, mainly to verify a MV repair won?t work. He referred me to Dr. Hiratzka, a very experienced and well-regarded surgeon in the Cincinnati area. In fact, when I got my angio on Friday, without prompting my nurse mentioned his name as someone I ought to talk to. So I met yesterday with him and liked what I heard.
I found Dr. Hiratzka to be very friendly and honest about my situation. He feels there?s a 2/3rd chance he can repair the mitral valve, and if not he?ll replace it with an On-X. He won?t repair if there?s the slightest chance it won?t stick, and his record is very good: in 20 years he?s had only one (!) repair fail. He also said the risk of re-infection for repair vs. replace was not any higher unless the bacteria were still in the tissue when the surgery occurred. Perhaps my first surgeon, who saw me while I was finishing my endo treatment, assumed he?d be operating on a still-infected valve.
So I?m planning to have Dr. Hiratzka do my MV repair (hopefully not a replacement) surgery sometime in mid-March. I left a message for his scheduler to call me back to set the date.
Now, here?s where things take an unexpected turn. I had an echo done on Feb 11 to verify that after the antibiotic treatment to remove the endo and vegetation, my valve was still severely leaking. The echo report indicated it was no better, even though I felt much better and my BP and HR were much lower since my TEE taken when I first started treatment. But then I got the left/right cath done on Friday and the results differed with the echo, showing my pulmonary pressure to be normal. I didn?t think much of it other than it meant I had some extra time (a few weeks?). When I met Dr. Hiratzka I brought my Feb 11 results since they were from my cardio/first-surgeon?s office; he had the angio and TEE results because they were from the hospital. He noted to me how the Feb 11 results seemed a little odd to him but I didn?t explore what he meant by that.
So, while waiting for Dr. Hiratzka?s scheduler to call, I instead got a call from my first surgeon?s nurse. She says the surgeon would now like me to get a TEE because the angio results may be indicating my valve is getting better, and I may not need surgery! Wait? what? Now my faith in this guy is a little low after getting a second opinion, and I?m not big on getting a TEE unless absolutely necessary, so I asked for him to call me and explain what exactly the angio was showing. If I?m still severely regurging, I?m going to need this surgery sooner than later, so I might as well go ahead rather than wait and see. Besides, I have every thing planned and nearly set ? unless we can push this out several years and hope medical advances make it easier, I want to do this now.
So I?m awaiting a callback from my first surgeon. I?ll probably go ahead and schedule the TEE and surgery now (with the second surgeon) just to get it reserved, but I?ll speak to my cardio and Dr. Hiratzka for their opinion before I even bother with the TEE. Has anyone else ever had an angio change the decision of whether or not to have surgery?
I found Dr. Hiratzka to be very friendly and honest about my situation. He feels there?s a 2/3rd chance he can repair the mitral valve, and if not he?ll replace it with an On-X. He won?t repair if there?s the slightest chance it won?t stick, and his record is very good: in 20 years he?s had only one (!) repair fail. He also said the risk of re-infection for repair vs. replace was not any higher unless the bacteria were still in the tissue when the surgery occurred. Perhaps my first surgeon, who saw me while I was finishing my endo treatment, assumed he?d be operating on a still-infected valve.
So I?m planning to have Dr. Hiratzka do my MV repair (hopefully not a replacement) surgery sometime in mid-March. I left a message for his scheduler to call me back to set the date.
Now, here?s where things take an unexpected turn. I had an echo done on Feb 11 to verify that after the antibiotic treatment to remove the endo and vegetation, my valve was still severely leaking. The echo report indicated it was no better, even though I felt much better and my BP and HR were much lower since my TEE taken when I first started treatment. But then I got the left/right cath done on Friday and the results differed with the echo, showing my pulmonary pressure to be normal. I didn?t think much of it other than it meant I had some extra time (a few weeks?). When I met Dr. Hiratzka I brought my Feb 11 results since they were from my cardio/first-surgeon?s office; he had the angio and TEE results because they were from the hospital. He noted to me how the Feb 11 results seemed a little odd to him but I didn?t explore what he meant by that.
So, while waiting for Dr. Hiratzka?s scheduler to call, I instead got a call from my first surgeon?s nurse. She says the surgeon would now like me to get a TEE because the angio results may be indicating my valve is getting better, and I may not need surgery! Wait? what? Now my faith in this guy is a little low after getting a second opinion, and I?m not big on getting a TEE unless absolutely necessary, so I asked for him to call me and explain what exactly the angio was showing. If I?m still severely regurging, I?m going to need this surgery sooner than later, so I might as well go ahead rather than wait and see. Besides, I have every thing planned and nearly set ? unless we can push this out several years and hope medical advances make it easier, I want to do this now.
So I?m awaiting a callback from my first surgeon. I?ll probably go ahead and schedule the TEE and surgery now (with the second surgeon) just to get it reserved, but I?ll speak to my cardio and Dr. Hiratzka for their opinion before I even bother with the TEE. Has anyone else ever had an angio change the decision of whether or not to have surgery?
