Aorta surgery center in Denver

[blauer]

I am 61 and otherwise in good health. I have a bicuspid aortic valve and enlarging aorta (now is 4.7). I will probably need surgery. Can you recommend an aorta surgery center in Denver? How about surgeon suggestions? I am interested in the robotic surgery technique. Is this possible for my condition. Are there specialists in Denver that use this surgery method.

Thanks for your help.
Bill

 

[blauer]

Still looking for a surgeon

Still looking for a surgeon

Thanks Susan. This isn't easy. No score card or ratings that I can find. Any help from those that have been through this is great. Bill

 

[KristyW]

Bill,

Right now there aren't any surgeons in the Denver area using the DaVinci system. There is one cardiothoracic surgeon that uses the system in Loveland at Heart Center of the Rockies. Dr. Lamounier, I met him when my mom had her aortic valve replaced. Her surgery was actually done by is partner, but he was the "on call" surgeon during most of her stay. Dr. Lamounier currently does NOT perform aortic procedures with the DaVinci system. Only mitral valve repair, septal defect repair and single bypass are done with the DaVinci. It looks like they're at some time going to add aortic valve replacement. However, since your ascending aorta is also involved, you probably won't be a good candidate for robotic surgery. The surgeon is going to want to have a good view of all that may be involved.

One of the Doctors that I have found while researching for you is Dr. Joseph Cleveland. He works out of University Hospital. The info I found wasn't new, so he may have moved on, but it looks like he's probably someone you want to look into. He has published several articles, a couple of them were about the aorta & aorta emergencies. I don't know him, or his work at all, I was just looking online.

Shoot...my own surgeon Dr. Brad Hofer looks like he'd be a good candidate for you too. (I haven't checked up on him in a while.) I liked him fine. Not much of a talker, but he's a good guy. Here's a link with his info... http://www.ctsnet.org/home/bhofer
Hope this helps.

 

[Philip B]

Denver Surgeon

Denver Surgeon

Hi Bill,

Here's a quick reply concerning your search for a good surgeon in Denver. I had AVR with an aortic graft to fix my 5.8 cm aneurysm in March 07. My surgery was done by Myles Guber (Colorado Cardiovascular Surgical Associates, P.C.) at Porter Adventist in Denver. My experience with my surgeon and the care I received at Porter was outstanding. No, Dr. Guber doesn't use the DaVinchi robot.

All in all, I only took five days off work for the surgery and returned to all of my pre-surgery activities within six weeks. This summer, I finished five century bicycle events (four involving riding series of mountain passes). Except for those odd moments when I hear the click of my St. Jude valve, I don't even think about the surgery I had. Dr. Guber's view of AVR surgery is that it's about fixing things so one can resume his/her normal life.

If you want more details about my experience, drop me a P.M. or give me a call (970-724-9331).

Philip B

 

[KristyW]

Bill,

Dr. Guber is in the same group as Dr. Hofer. Either one is good. The reason I suggested Dr. Hofer over Dr. Guber is that Dr. Hofer has special interests in thoracic aortic aneurysms. Originally Dr. Guber was to do my AVR, but he was called out of town for his own father's heart surgery, so Dr. Hofer was recruited to do my surgery. FWIW, Dr. Hofer was originally scheduled to be the "assisting" surgeon. Most of these types of surgeries have 2 surgeons on hand. You couldn't ask for a better group of surgeons than these.

 

[blauer]

Thank you Kristy and Philip, your replies are really helping me. I am coping with this and I am concerned as you can appreciate. Is there any good reason to consider going to another State for the surgery? I don't really want to do something like that but I must consider the options.
Bill

 

[ALCapshaw2]

With a Bicuspid Aortic Valve and an Aneurism, my *guess* is that any skilled Aortic Surgeon will want 'full access' (i.e. a full sternotomy). (I could be wrong)

BAV has a high correlation with Connective Tissue Orders (which lead to aneurisms). See the Bicuspid Aortic Valve and Connective Tissue Disorder Forum for LOTS of information and discussion of those topics.

Bottom Line: You would be best served by a surgeon with LOTS of experience doing Aortic Surgery (which is way more complex than 'simple valve replacement' which is more complex than even simpler Bypass Surgery).

Dr. Laks at UCLA and Dr. Craig Miller at Stanford are two Well Known Aortic Surgeons in California. You would be wise to select a surgeon with similar experience and credentials. I believe Dr. Ryan in Dallas is another good aortic surgeon.

 

[Philip B]

Surgeons

Surgeons

Opinions will obviously vary, but the simple truth is that numerous excellent surgeons do large numbers of AVR and aortic graft surgeries in numerous excellent hospitals in the Denver area. Please remember that the success rate for AVR and aortic graft surgeries is very high. Are there excellent surgeons who can do the procedures you need at places like Stanford, the UCLA Med Center, Cleveland Clinic, or the Texas Heart Insititute? Of course there are. Do you really need to seek a surgeon outside of Colorado to do the procedures you need? Well, that really depends on you.

It's important to select a surgeon whom you have confidence in. In my humble opinion, feeling a positive connection with your surgeon is essential. I also believe it's important to have confidence in the team that will be caring for you when you are out of surgery and in recovery. I probably spent more time visiting with the ICCU staff at Porter Adventist pre-surgery than I spent with my surgeon. While my brain was in "terrified mode", the ICCU staff took lots of time with me to walk me through every step of what I would be dealing with. Interestingly, when ICCU staff members found out who my surgeon was every one of them asked me what I was worried about. They obviously had complete confidence in his ability to bring me through the surgery.

By the way, the surgeons with Colorado Cardiovascular Surgical Associates are some of the most sought after surgeons in our region. They work with a lot of patients who travel in from other states.

I guess the short answer here is to hookup with a surgeon you have complete confidence in. Whoever that is and regardless of where the surgeon is located, odds are pretty darn good that you'll have a positive outcome.

Find yourself a surgeon; then you get to deal with choosing a replacement valve and all of the different opinions surrounding that issue. Fun stuff!

-Philip