Should I stay or should I go?

[SusQ]

I would like to add that hubby now has a local cardiologist, thanks to his fantastically helpful GP who has been pretty on top of getting us what we needed ever since we got her involved, that he is comfortable with. The local cardiologist understands the situation, is pleased we have chosen Chicago and knows (and has stated) that we are in excellent hands there. He's 100% with us on coordinating after care with Chicago and has already set up a post op appointment for hubby for mid-July.

 

[RTZdad]

And the winner is....

After a few weeks of contemplation, I have decided to put my heart in the caring hands in Cleveland. The decision was a difficult one and I appreciate all of the feedback that I have received on this thread. A special thanks goes out to Lionheart (John) who took the time to share his positive experience with me over the phone. I cannot thank him enough for being so generous with his time. I look forward to speaking with him as I continue my journey to the other side of this whole deal. I will also do my best to share my experiences here on the site as well. My wife and I decided to go with Dr. Sabik. His credentials are outstanding and Cleveland's reputation is as well. While I was confident in the abilities of Dr. Kevin Miller here in Denver, I ultimately chose to travel so that I could eliminate the last nagging what-if. I am choosing to go with a surgeon who has performed thousands of my type of surgeries. The travel will be a major inconvenience and it will certainly be more expensive. At the end of the day, none of that will matter as long as I obtain a successful result. While my surgery should be somewhat routine, aortic valve and root replacement, I was told that there was a slight chance that it could become more complex depending upon the structure of my aorta. I'm not willing to leave anything open to chance. I also believe that if this surgery was going to be performed on my wife or son, there would be no hesitation with my decision to take them one of the beat places in the country. So, April 4th is now my date for the dance. I feel completely confident in my decision, and it has taken a huge weight off of my shoulders. I am ready to get to the other side of this thing and begin my life anew.

Tom

 

[Greg a]

Thanks for the welcome! I have met with two different surgeons here in Denver. My surgery is tentatively scheduled for April 4th in Cleveland. I really liked Dr. Miller, just debating about whether to go with the best. Do I go with a guy who has done 600 or the guy who has done thousands? While my surgery isn't considered complex, my wife and I want to ensure that we get the best care. The information provided by you above was great. Thanks. I have been reading on the site ever since I was told that I needed surgery. it's been a huge help (also bought Adam Pick's book too).

Good luck Greg! You will be in my thoughts and prayers. My surgery is scheduled for April 4th. Everything is going to be ok! I look forward to sharing recovery stories with you on the other side.

Tom

I had missed the 4/4/2012 ref before but added you to the family calendar now

 

[RTZdad]

Thanks Greg!

 

[Lynlw]

I'm happy you made your decision and are at peace with it. I know what a releif it can be not to have that hanging over you and keep 2nd guessing yourself. Looking forward to hearing how well things wnt.

 

[RTZdad]

I'm happy you made your decision and are at peace with it. I know what a releif it can be not to have that hanging over you and keep 2nd guessing yourself. Looking forward to hearing how well things wnt.

Thank you Lyn for sharing your thoughts with me. I also took a look at your caringbridge site and think it is a wonderful tool to share information with my family. I'm thinking of doing one for me too.

Tom

 

[Lynlw]

Thank you Lyn for sharing your thoughts with me. I also took a look at your caringbridge site and think it is a wonderful tool to share information with my family. I'm thinking of doing one for me too.

Tom

thanks. I have to say going thru lots of surgeries and hospital admissions over the last almost 25 years, not only before computers, but even cell phones pretty much, it is one of the things that made everything so much easier and nicer. not only just having to do updates in a couple mins that everyone can read, instead of making tons of phone calls and even worse getting tons of calls usually when we were napping ect, but it is so nice to read and retread the messages and know so many people had us in their thoughts. plus, even tho it seems like you will never forget 1 second of the experience,things do blur together after a while so it is good to have one place you can go to reread what happened when ect
One thing we did the last few times beside emailing everyone the link, was we had the URL on some small cheap cards so if anyone asked instead of looking for something to write it on we just have them one
most hospitals have wifi to do updates anywhere now, but also usually have computers in the family rooms so you don't even have to leave to update.

 

[dhudson]

enjoyed chatting with you. I think you got some good advice, and since I am still in the waiting room, i won't weigh in except to say for me, I will stay in Tucson. Got a great Dr here, and he will see to it I get the best possible surgeon available. I just can't afford to travel to the big name hospitals, unless they decide to send me to Phoenix, then that's only 90 to 100 miles away. I would rather just be a home, recupr where I am comfortable and know my surroundings. Anyway, will keep looking for your updates, and your in my thoughts and prayers.

 

[Boston Tiger]

Congrats on finding a surgeon and hospital you are 100% comfortable with. That really does make things a bit easier as the big day approaches.

 

[joanie]

Dear RTZ Dad,

Dr. Sabik did my AVR almost 2 years ago. I cannot say enough wonderful things about him and his entire team. Even though I was a pretty routine case with no complications, I felt as if I was their only patient the entire time I was there. (I know, he did at least 13 other surgeries while I was there!) Everyone - from Dr. Sabik down to the lovely women who cleaned my room - seemed interested in giving me the best possible care.

I found Dr. Sabik to be amazingly down to earth and friendly (I expected the chief of cardiac surgery, indeed all surgeons, to be business-like and aloof) and happy to spend as much time with me before surgery as I wanted. Actually, he didn't need to spend all that much time with me because I already knew what kind of valve I wanted (tissue) and didn't have that many questions about what to expect. We probably spent more time talking about his research on by-passes without putting people on heart-lung machines than on my valve surgery!

Please feel free to ask any questions you have about Dr. Sabik or the Cleveland Clinic experience. As far as I'm concerned, they're the best!

 

[Ovie]

I'm probably just echoing, but I was in a similar situation, did I want to go with a decent surgeon here at home that does as many surgeries in a month as another may do in a couple of weeks. I chose to go with someone with more experience under their belt at Mayo, as opposed to staying in my home town and getting it done. I felt so much more comfortable and mentally calm going into surgery up at mayo than I know I would of here. I will say though traveling back was not fun, and I even stayed in a hotel for 5 days after and still wasn't to comfortable on the drive back. I think you'll probably be more at ease going to CC and will end up making the best choice for YOU at the end of the day. Good luck!

 

[CATDOG]

Same question

Same question

Same situation. Travel, or stay in hometown, for isolated AVR? Local hospital = just over 300 valves/yr, vs CC ($300 -$800 r/trip plane fare plus a week of hotels. Nothing on the echos to indicate any other issues so far, but haven't had any pre-op testing yet either. Some other medical issues to deal with now and then.

 

[Lynlw]

Same situation. Travel, or stay in hometown, for isolated AVR? Local hospital = just over 300 valves/yr, vs CC ($300 -$800 r/trip plane fare plus a week of hotels. Nothing on the echos to indicate any other issues so far, but haven't had any pre-op testing yet either. Some other medical issues to deal with now and then.

is there something in between local or ccf, how much closer would another large heart center be to your home? since there are about 70,000 AVRs done in the Us each year and CCF only does 3000, that leaves a
Alot of other surgeons and centers who have a lot of experience doing them with really great stats

 

[Michelle D]

From my experience of local hospitals and the Cleveland Clinic I'll give you my perspective. The entire staff at the Cleveland clinic was so helpful and friendly from the surgeon I used down to the janitors, the rooms are huge and they have great beds I wanted to take one of them home (the beds). If I pressed the nurse button I had someone there within 15-30 seconds. Usually the nurses were nurse practitioners or nurse practitioner interns. Before I left I had a cardiologist talk to me, a nutritionist, and I don't remember who else but I had many visits the last day to explain what to do when I go home. It felt like the way all hospitals should run. Oh and someone came and mopped my floor every day.

I was very comfortable there, except the food is terrible, and even though I live in Florida I would go there even if I was getting a tonsillectomy or gall bladder removal. I just feel cared for there as opposed to every other hospital I've been too.

 

[RTZdad]

Congrats on finding a surgeon and hospital you are 100% comfortable with. That really does make things a bit easier as the big day approaches.

After making my decision, I felt a huge sense of relief. In many ways, I wish the surgery was tomorrow so that I can be on the other side faster.

 

[RTZdad]

I'm probably just echoing, but I was in a similar situation, did I want to go with a decent surgeon here at home that does as many surgeries in a month as another may do in a couple of weeks. I chose to go with someone with more experience under their belt at Mayo, as opposed to staying in my home town and getting it done. I felt so much more comfortable and mentally calm going into surgery up at mayo than I know I would of here. I will say though traveling back was not fun, and I even stayed in a hotel for 5 days after and still wasn't to comfortable on the drive back. I think you'll probably be more at ease going to CC and will end up making the best choice for YOU at the end of the day. Good luck!

Thanks Ovie. When considering places to have my surgery, I strongly considered going to Mayo too. I was born there and in many ways feel as though I left a piece of my heart there when I left. I am still a Vikings and Twins fan and I left there 27 years ago. I chose Cleveland ultimately, but it was a close call in terms of where I would be willing to travel. I was in contact with both hospitals while I was considering all of my options and the folks at Mayo were really great. I'm glad to read that you are recovering well. I also read that you are a hockey fan, PM sometime and we can talk some puck. I'm a Dallas Stars fan.

Tom

 

[RTZdad]

Dear RTZ Dad,

Dr. Sabik did my AVR almost 2 years ago. I cannot say enough wonderful things about him and his entire team. Even though I was a pretty routine case with no complications, I felt as if I was their only patient the entire time I was there. (I know, he did at least 13 other surgeries while I was there!) Everyone - from Dr. Sabik down to the lovely women who cleaned my room - seemed interested in giving me the best possible care.

I found Dr. Sabik to be amazingly down to earth and friendly (I expected the chief of cardiac surgery, indeed all surgeons, to be business-like and aloof) and happy to spend as much time with me before surgery as I wanted. Actually, he didn't need to spend all that much time with me because I already knew what kind of valve I wanted (tissue) and didn't have that many questions about what to expect. We probably spent more time talking about his research on by-passes without putting people on heart-lung machines than on my valve surgery!

Please feel free to ask any questions you have about Dr. Sabik or the Cleveland Clinic experience. As far as I'm concerned, they're the best!

That's awesome to hear that you had such a great experience Joanie! My wife felt as though we hit the lotto when we found out that Dr. Sabik would be performing my surgery. He has an excellent pedigree! I'll send you a PM to discuss any concerns that I have. Thanks for posting on this thread. It gives me even more confidence about my choice.

Tom

 

[RTZdad]

Same situation. Travel, or stay in hometown, for isolated AVR? Local hospital = just over 300 valves/yr, vs CC ($300 -$800 r/trip plane fare plus a week of hotels. Nothing on the echos to indicate any other issues so far, but haven't had any pre-op testing yet either. Some other medical issues to deal with now and then.

I really liked my surgeon here in Denver, and if I didn't have the option of traveling I would most likely would have gone with him. I don't consider ANY surgery routine, so in my case, I didn't want to leave anything to chance. I don't know where you live, but there is a chance that you are near a facility that is good too. I recommend meeting with at least two surgeons in your area to see if you obtain a connection. I sent Cleveland a copy of my records and they performed a second opinion regarding my surgery. The nurse that I have spoken to during the process has been extremely helpful as well. I will continue to post my experiences and you can follow my journey through the process. Hopefully it will help. Good luck!

Tom

 

[RTZdad]

is there something in between local or ccf, how much closer would another large heart center be to your home? since there are about 70,000 AVRs done in the Us each year and CCF only does 3000, that leaves a
Alot of other surgeons and centers who have a lot of experience doing them with really great stats

I agree Lyn, hopefully there is something close. Traveling far for surgery might not be he ideal solution for everyone. I would add that traveling to Cleveland for my surgery has given me a real sense of confidence. Their track record for success is outstanding, and we are fortunate enough to be able to get treatment there.

Tom

 

[RTZdad]

From my experience of local hospitals and the Cleveland Clinic I'll give you my perspective. The entire staff at the Cleveland clinic was so helpful and friendly from the surgeon I used down to the janitors, the rooms are huge and they have great beds I wanted to take one of them home (the beds). If I pressed the nurse button I had someone there within 15-30 seconds. Usually the nurses were nurse practitioners or nurse practitioner interns. Before I left I had a cardiologist talk to me, a nutritionist, and I don't remember who else but I had many visits the last day to explain what to do when I go home. It felt like the way all hospitals should run. Oh and someone came and mopped my floor every day.

I was very comfortable there, except the food is terrible, and even though I live in Florida I would go there even if I was getting a tonsillectomy or gall bladder removal. I just feel cared for there as opposed to every other hospital I've been too.

Thanks Michelle! Soooo glad to hear that u had a positive experience too! How long did you stay in town after the surgery? We're taking a train out there and visiting family along the way a few days before the surgery. The plan right now is to stay in town until I'm ready to head home. Then I am planning to take the train back home too.