Since announcing the upcoming webcast about robotic surgery from The Cleveland Clinic, my inbox has been flooded with questions about the minimally invasive, Da Vinci Robot.
To help you learn more about the Da Vinci robot, I located an interesting video from CNN that will educate many of you about the benefits of robotic surgery for [...]

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Selecting a mechanical or bioprosthetic heart valve replacement prior to surgery is not easy. There are pros and cons to both types of valve replacement devices. On that note, Jodi just emailed me about one side effect of aortic mechanical valve replacements… The clicking noise.
Jodi writes, “Hi Adam! My husband has aortic valve insufficiency and [...]

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There is nothing better than receiving inspirational, patient success stories from my readers.
This morning I opened an email from Brian. As you may recall, Brian entered the recovery doldrums following his aortic valve repair earlier this year. As Brian previously wrote to me, “In my opinion, recovery from heart surgery is way worse than the [...]

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Well… What do you think?
Is it true that over 10,000 heart valve procedures are performed each year at The Cleveland Clinic for disorders including mitral valve regurgitation?

According to its website, The Cleveland Clinic continues to perform the largest number of valve procedures in the United States. In 2006, Cleveland Clinic surgeons performed 2,127 valve procedures [...]

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There is not a single doubt in my mind… Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday.
Yes, I love the food. Yes, I love the four-day weekend. Yes, I love being surrounded by family and friends. However, it is the spirit of this holiday that resonates most with me.
I consider myself a very, very, very lucky person after [...]

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As you may know, several of my readers (including Larry Larsson and Leslie Lafayette) had successful mitral valve repair operations using the minimally invasive Da Vinci Robot.
Guess what? I just learned that The Cleveland Clinic will be hosting a live webcast on December 10, 2008 at 5pm (EST) to review the options and treatment of [...]

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I just received a question from Simone about her 66-year old father. Her email reads, “Hi Adam - My father was just diagnosed with severe mitral regurgitation. As you know, this is a very stressful time. His cardiologist rattled off a bunch of terms and numbers which suggested valve replacement. One of those terms was [...]

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I just received a troubled email from John that illustrates a critical challenge for some patients experience following surgery - total, complete energy loss. Here is what John writes:
Dear Adam,
Thank you for your concern for us valve patients. I had heart valve surgery April 29, 2008. I had no symptoms of the level 4, severe [...]

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It’s interesting.
The more I talk to patients and caregivers… The more I realize they either love their heart surgeon or they don’t. There is very little gray area. I have yet to meet a patient who says, “Ehh. My surgeon was, well, umm, okay.”
Yes, I am taking this opportunity to REMIND YOU how critical [...]

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Hi everybody,
Thanks for all your wonderful notes, emails and phone calls regarding our recently announced pregnancy.
Earlier this week, Robyn (my wife) and I had another ultrasound. The two of us “Ewwwed” and “Ahhhhed” as the technician showed us our little, growing baby boy. We saw his hands, his feet, his legs, his heart, his head [...]

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