When did you meet your surgeon?

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B

Bear72

Active member
Joined
Jun 7, 2009
Messages
44
Location
NJ
Did any of you NOT meet your surgeon well in advance of your surgery? I won't meet my surgeon until the day before at the CC even though he has already reviewed my echo history.
Just wondering.
 
I did not meet my surgeon until the day before my first valve surgery in 2001! He had seen my cath results and was the only surgeon willing to do my surgery.

Lettitia
 
I insisted on meeting mine to get questions answered. From everything I know about CC I would not be extremely uncomfortable with your schedule. I wanted to know and have a choice in type and kind of valve and several other things.
 
I met my surgeon 3 days before surgery, while in the hospital. I talked to him for 45 minutes. My DH and daughter tell me so. Me.............I don't remember 1 minute of it!:(
 
I met the surgeon who did my first two OHS about 2 weeks before my first surgery. I met the surgeon who did my third OHS 10 days before and we had a two hour meeting discussing options. However, my third OHS was very delicate and dangerous so there was a lot to talk about.
I think the CC works differently from local hospitals so it sounds like the norm. Might just be the "price paid" for getting some of the best.
 
i was at CC and met my surgeon a day before my initial surgery date. my surgery was then rescheduled for the following day as my surgeon had to do a heart transplant when i was supposed to have it.
 
2 weeks before surgery

2 weeks before surgery

I had av replacement and aneurysm repair 2.5 weeks ago at CC withDr. Svensson. I was scheduled for 3 days of testing that took place 2 weeks before my surgery date of 7-7 (which had already been scheduled). I met Dr. Svensson on day 3 of testing and he had already reviewed the records I sent to him plus all of the test results that the CC did the previous 2 days.

I live in Cleveland but as I sat and waited I noticed a lot of folks from out of town who seemed to be scheduled to have testing/meet with docs and surgery the next day. Of course I was scheduled differently because I live in town.

Which surgeon are you meeting with?

Good luck and I know you'll be pleased with the care.

Barb
 
I met the cardiothoracic resident working for my surgeon the afternoon I was admitted. I requested a tissue valve and he scampered off to find his boss to tell him that he now had patient #49 for his Medtronic study. I spoke with another one of my surgeon's patients scheduled for the same day and he became #50.

Dr Modry and I finally shook hands late that evening. Then I was postponed because of a man going into cardiac arrest in the foyer. My husband looked out over the observation deck railing and turned to me and said... "Your resident is performing CPR on a man, I'm pretty sure I'm taking you out for dinner." I finally had my first surgery 2 days after being admitted to hospital.
 
I met my surgeon the day before what was to be my surgery but it got cancelled..So I got to meet him again the day before the actual surgery. That is how he works and he was highly recomended. My cardio said he did things a little differently but was the best Dr. for the job. So I trusted him.
 
I met my surgeon 30 days prior to surgery, We had a meeting where he went over all options and explained what I could expect as well as details about the surgery. Best of luck to you.
 
geebee said:
I met the surgeon who did my first two OHS about 2 weeks before my first surgery.
Click to expand...

That was the timeframe in which I met the surgeon who did my 2003 OHS.

The previous two ... I met, but I was a kid, so I don't remember how far in advance I met them....



Cort | 35swm | "Mr Monte Carlo"."Mr Road Trip" | pig valve.pacemaker ...RT 66 = Sept 5-16, '09
WRMNshowcase.legos.HO.models.MCs.RTs.CHD = http://www.chevyasylum.com/cort
"I'm all out of time" ... Steve Wariner ... 'The Weekend'
 
I had my surgery done locally. I knew for 3 years that surgery was inevitable -- we were just waiting for the valve to be bad enough to warrant the surgery. I believe I met my surgeon after I had my angiogram. He did not like seeing potential patients until he had that very important information in his hands. That was a month prior, I believe.

My valve was very textbook, no complicating factors anticipated or experienced. Had my situation been complicated or unusually delicate enough to warrant a trip to a special hospital, I would have thought nothing of meeting my busy surgeon shortly before the surgery. I think that's normal.

GOOD LUCK!! Best wishes.

Marguerite
 
Was at the C.C. Met my surgeon on Monday. Like you, I had previously sent in all of my information, and he reviewed it. I knew that I wanted a tissue valve, and he was in complete agreement.

I was originally scheduled to have surgery on Wednesday. I had planned on taking in the sights of Cleveland on Tuesday, but was taken aback when the surgeon told me that
I was to be operated on the next day.:eek:
 
I first met mine (Dr. Alan Speir) 3 or 4 weeks before the scheduled surgery date. I had some follow-up questions after reviewing my options so he gave me an initial consultation with no problem. It helped me a lot to talk things over with him and his able staff.
 
Originally, my surgeon wanted me to come to the Mayo on a Monday, have tests done, meet the Dr's on a tuesday and have surgery on a Wednesday. I said no thanks! I needed to meet them, hear what they had to say, go home and digest it and then go back. So, I met him in December, then went back in April where I met with him again and then had surgery the next day.

I think it is very common for these big heart centers to have you fly in and meet everyone one day and have surgery the next.


Kim
 
I think it is very common for these big heart centers to have you fly in and meet everyone one day and have surgery the next.
Click to expand...

kfay- I think that you are right. Normally, for a big decision like heart surgery, I would expect that most people would want to mull over and digest all the possibilities.

I think that the reason that I was comfortable with surgery the day after I had met the doctor, was due to many reasons.

* Big reason- This forum. I had read so much on this forum, that I was probably a lot more familiar with the different aspects of heart surgery than the average guy on the street. The fact that I had learned of personal experiences from other patients was very valuable to me.
As a result, there were probably a lot of questions that had already been answered for me, before I met the doctor.

* I had done my homework, and read all that I could on the net. I even saw a 1 hour film of my type of surgery on You Tube, so I knew what to expect.

*I had picked the surgeon, and the hospital. I had gone through all the web sites that rate hospitals and doctors. I was convinced (rightly) that I had chosen well.

*I had been involved with the hospital for a couple of months, from the time that I first sent in my materials. I was very impressed with the manner that I was treated, and different "perks" that were offered by the hospital.
 
Braveheart, I didn't meet my surgeon with no clue as to what I was doing! This was my second heart surgery and I had done all of those things that you listed as well. I sought out my surgeon because he is widely recognized as the surgeon who has the most experience with my particular CHD. However, that did not change the fact that I wanted to meet him (other than the day before he cut on me) face to face and suss him out before I let him anywhere near my heart. I had the luxury of time and was luckily able to afford to fly back and forth for these meetings. It gave me the peace of mind that I needed.

Kim
 
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