J
John Cochran
Like Jennie (see post earlier) I have selected the Syngergraft aortic homograft, and will have my surgery on April 24 at North Memorial Hospital in Minneapolis. My surgeon is Dr. Michael King who has performed over 1000 valve surgeries. The Cryolife technical rep here actually worked in the operating room for many years with Dr. King, and seems to regard him highly. I could have had this surgery done at the Mayo Clinic, or at Oklahoma, and that's it for choices right now. I opted to have it here in Minneapolis where my family lives not just for convenience, but because North Memorial Hospital has a great cardiac care center, and a wonderful model for valve patient care. Basically, you check into the cardiac intensive care unit, which has separate rooms, and you stay there for your entire visit. This means you get 1-to-1 nursing care, with the same staff for you whole stay. Patients rave about the quality of care. My son was in this unit in December for a rhythm problem and got superb care.
Anyhow, I feel comfortable with the choice I'm made but will be honest and say that the whole dang thing makes me more nervous than Mike Tyson taking the SAT's! I wish I could have this done as a minimally invasive procedure, but Dr. King thinks that conventional surgery in this case is the best and safest way to go. By the way, Dr. King uses the Cryolife product "Bioglue" at the aortic suture sites, which he says virtually eliminates seepage/bleeding.
Any words of encouragement would be appreciated, and if you think I'm nuts for taking this path...well don't tell me now!
Best to you all,
--John Cochran
[email protected]
Anyhow, I feel comfortable with the choice I'm made but will be honest and say that the whole dang thing makes me more nervous than Mike Tyson taking the SAT's! I wish I could have this done as a minimally invasive procedure, but Dr. King thinks that conventional surgery in this case is the best and safest way to go. By the way, Dr. King uses the Cryolife product "Bioglue" at the aortic suture sites, which he says virtually eliminates seepage/bleeding.
Any words of encouragement would be appreciated, and if you think I'm nuts for taking this path...well don't tell me now!
Best to you all,
--John Cochran
[email protected]