How do you Know

[Jimmyjames]

Hi Everyone, Great website I am 50 years old, Bicuspid Aortic Valve, with severe Aortic Stenosis, meeting with an surgeon next week. Been dealing with chest pains for about a 1 1/2 and been dealing with shortness of breath and fatigue for about 6 months, my 1st Cardiologist recommended a angiogram and my arteries were 100% clean, Praise GOD, continue having chest pains and shortness of breath, my GP recommended I see another Cardiologist for a 2nd opinion, met with him and he said I need to have my valve replaced and to not hold off to long. Recommended I do a stress test, haven't done a Stress test in a little while, only did a short time on the stress test. At my age I should have done a lot more time wise on the stress test. I am 6'2" 195lbs.

So when I interview the surgeon how will I know if he is the right person.
Also are there any standout questions to ask him

PS please keep me in prayer. Thanks

 

[Freddie]

Hi Jimmy and Welcome to the forum.
Wish I could help you with your questions. Where are you planning on having your surgery? Have you tried to search out this surgeons name on the forums?

No doubt I'll keep you in my prayers.

 

[Bill B]

In terms of evaluating a cardiac surgeon, I made it simple. If you go to a VERY experienced valve surgeon, you don't need to ask stock questions, like how many valve replacements do you do each year, what is your operative mortality, etc. S/He should lead the discussion and the questions should end up coming naturally out of that. If something is unclear or you are uncomfortable about something s/he says, ask him/her about it and see how he handles it. I went to the absolute top guy in the area. One of the most impressive people I ever met. Not because he was a big-time surgeon, but because of his knowledge and ability to communicate it to me, as well as his obvious experience and perspective. I didn't need to ask him any of the stock questions. We talked about the disease, the state of my valve, factors affecting my likely outcome, valve choices, etc. He was particularly concerned about my aorta, something commonly affected in BAV and needs repair often more urgently than the valve itself but that my cardiologist had NEVER mentioned. It was a 1-1/2 to 2 hour conversation that was wide-ranging and engrossing. He reviewed my echo with me in detail explaining how bad my situation was and what needed to be done. It didn't take me long to feel like he was the guy.

Certainly I will pray for you, but know that this surgery is the most successful form of OHS. The fact that you have clean arteries is a very big plus. The odds are so overwhelming that you will do extremely well that it is not worth spending any significant time worrying.

Let us know how your surgeon meeting goes and what the plan is after that.

 

[Jkm7]

I see you are from Massachusetts. You have two of the top cardiac centers in the U.S. in Boston where, presumably, you can have your surgery. Mass General and Brigham and Womens consistently are rated as top heart surgery hospitals. If your insurance approves them, it really would be hard for you to find a surgeon there who is not 'top notch'.

I had two OHS at Mass General in four years and the care I got there was outstanding. I am grateful to them.

The anxiety most of us experience while waiting heart surgery is very difficult but common. Many of us here say the wait is the worst part of heart surgery. This surgery has a hugely high success rate and the vast majority go very, very well. How lucky are we to live in a time when we have the option to have this surgery.

Let us help in whatever way possible. Only someone who has been there and done it really knows what this whole experience is about.

 

[Mentu]

James, you could ask your cardiologist for recommendations with respect to surgeons. As much as the surgeon, however, the medical center where the surgery is to be performed is very important. Since I live in a state with only 4 million people, there are not so many places to choose from so I went with the best one near my home. Obviously, you want a surgeon who is experienced. When you have some names to consider you can ask your other doctors what they know of their respective reputations and there are online services you can use to check some of the basics. One of the things I noticed about my surgeon was that in 15 years of practice he had only been sued twice and both of those were dismissed as frivolous.

The most interesting information I found came from asking friends in the medical field. Through them I met one of the experienced cardiac nurses who worked on my surgeon's team at his former hospital. I liked what she had to say about his respect for his surgical team and maintaining a calm atmosphere while working. There is only so much you can know before you meet. During your first visit, you have a chance to ask some questions and talk about what needs to be done. How you and your surgeon interact will also contribute to your sense of confidence that you have made a good choice.

On a different topic, I find it very odd that anyone would recommend a stress test after you have had a cardiac catheterization, especially, since you have been having chest pains. My surgeon said the heart cath was what he relied upon as it is provided the most direct information about the condition of the heart and arterial system. Whoever you choose, it sounds as though you should do so now if you are having chest pains caused by the stenosis.

Best wishes.

Larry

 

[Luana]

I liked my surgeon two years before I met him. Got one of those glossy advertisements in the mail from a local hospital and there was an article about him and the da Vinci robotic valve repair. My first thought was, if I need surgery, he's the one. Just so happened after cardiac cath my cardiologist told me he'd send the surgeon to meet with me afterwards and it was the one I wanted. Bingo.

I went 99% on my gut feeling about him, which, in all honesty, is not the best way to make such a big decision. In addition to my gut, I knew he was good; he reputation was outstanding, and I liked the guy.

 

[nngbwh]

Welcome to the forum, Jimmy. Glad you are able to join us. What I done was ask tons of question and when with my gut feeling. Good luck and make sure you keep us updated on your situation.

 

[rvrkumar]

I see you are from Massachusetts. You have two of the top cardiac centers in the U.S. in Boston where, presumably, you can have your surgery. Mass General and Brigham and Womens consistently are rated as top heart surgery hospitals. If your insurance approves them, it really would be hard for you to find a surgeon there who is not 'top notch'..

I had my surgery in Brigham and Women's 8 weeks back. Not only I found surgeon team top notch, but also the care from nusrsing team is outstanding. I can tell they had experience dealing with many cases before, know what we go through post-op and help us tremendously in the recovery. You cannot go wrong with either of the hospitals Mass General or Brigham and Women's.

 

[Jimmyjames]

Thanks everyone, for great answers, I will let you know how things went with my surgeon after our meeting next week, take care GOD bless

 

[Jkm7]

Which hospital is the surgeon with?

 

[Marguerite53]

Hello and welcome to this wonderful community! It sounds like your body is telling you it is time for surgery. Do you know what your valve measurement is? Or are you familiar with any of the other values your echo or angiogram conveyed?

I'll have to agree with Mentu -- why on earth do you need to take a stress test? The surgeon needs the information from the angiogram/cath. Please be sure to ask the surgeon or surgeon's office if you need the stress test before you actually do one. I can't remember what specifically it is that they need from those. I will say, I rather loved having one 3 years after my surgery because I just felt wonderful!! :wink2::biggrin2:

Everything that has been said is wonderful information about surgeon/hospital choices. I am a real believer in optimism and confidence. You don't have to personally like your surgeon (I did) but I would hope you would come away from the meeting feeling confident. It was very important to me to shake his hand -- to know how those hands felt that would be changing the course of my life. I think I got rather caught up in the magic of all of it -- my way of coping with the anxiety perhaps.

You may begin to feel as if your head is about to explode, trying to figure everything out and prepare and all. We've all felt that way! It's normal. This surgery is so life giving! It is not a cake walk, but for many, many of us it turned out to be so much easier than we ever imagined.

Best wishes to you and I hope you will come here often.

Marguerite

 

[offwego]

Hi Everyone, Great website I am 50 years old, Bicuspid Aortic Valve, with severe Aortic Stenosis, meeting with an surgeon next week. Been dealing with chest pains for about a 1 1/2 and been dealing with shortness of breath and fatigue for about 6 months, my 1st Cardiologist recommended a angiogram and my arteries were 100% clean, Praise GOD, continue having chest pains and shortness of breath, my GP recommended I see another Cardiologist for a 2nd opinion, met with him and he said I need to have my valve replaced and to not hold off to long. Recommended I do a stress test, haven't done a Stress test in a little while, only did a short time on the stress test. At my age I should have done a lot more time wise on the stress test. I am 6'2" 195lbs.

So when I interview the surgeon how will I know if he is the right person.
Also are there any standout questions to ask him

PS please keep me in prayer. Thanks

I've just had my second surgery and it went better than I would have dreamed possible..I say this as I believe your mental state of preparation is very important and the first time I was not ready, it was a shock and many other reasons.

This might sound trite but...I'm sure you will be not just fine but better than you thought possible, faster than you thought possible. it's a miracle that we can be helped so much and relatively easily.

Not saying it's a walk in the park but really, it's done all day long, every day and you will do great.

As far as other specifics, I see many good posts with great advice already!

 

[offwego]

Just gonna add...i don't see why it's worth doing a stress test...

 

[Laura]

Hi Jimmy:

I'm new to the forum too, but I thought I would chime in and add a couple of comments about my recent experience at Mass General. I'm 56 years old and I had my aortic valve replaced on 10/3. I was thrilled with both my surgeon and the care I received there. I'm sure I would have had good results at Brigham and Woman's if I had gone there though. They are both such great hospitals. People come from all over the world to have their surgeries performed in Boston! My cardiologist had actually recommended a surgeon from Brigham's, but I ended up getting a second opinion based on a referral that I got from my brother's doctor. I had a list of perhaps 10 questions to ask the surgeon, but I almost didn't even need them. The surgeon was very open and forthcoming with all the information I could possibly need. She made me feel that she genuinely cared about my health. She was very confident that she could help me and that the surgery would help return me to the lifestyle I used to enjoy. I knew that day, that there was no need for me to look any further!

My cardiologist said I could have a stress test if I wanted further proof that I needed the surgery, but I opted not to have one. I did go for a cardiac catheterization and had another echo at Mass General before proceeding with surgery.

Good luck!

Laura

 

[bradvo]

JJ, I'm new here and am interested in what kind of chest pains. I have started a thread called chest pains. If you could answer I'd appreciate it.
I did forget to mention I felt a burn type pain also, like after a hard lung work out .

I would like to add that I had a heart cath scan that showed artery's were clear, but the doc could not get a good visual of my aortic valve, could not get the wire
in to get a good look.
He requested I get an echo scan, after viewing echo scan he was able to determine the bad valve. I also got a ct scan that showed high density at aortic valve.
I have same symptoms with pain, weakness and short of breath. Pain not so much unless I walk to much, then I get that burn pain in lung area.
take care
Brad