Heart Valve Replacement News and Info
Since starting this website four years ago, my primary objective was to help future patients and caregivers understand the challenges, opportunities and realities of heart valve surgery.
Today, I am very excited to share another objective for this work - helping children with heart problems. That said, earlier today, we made a $5,000 donation to the [...]
As we have learned together, there are several strategies and tactics that patients can use to best prepare for their heart valve surgery. Specific to this point, I just received an insightful email from Sam Swerdlow about using guided imagery CDs prior to surgery. Here is what Sam wrote:
Sam Swerdlow, Heart Valve Replacement Patient, & [...]
I just received a great question from Mary Anne about heart valve anatomy. Specifically, she is interested to learn more about valvular function within the heart.
Mary Anne writes, “Dear Adam - I was recently diagnosed with severe mitral regurgitation. As an active 67-year old grandmother, this has been a difficult time - especially since I’m [...]
Since 2000, the da Vinci robot has been used in cardiac operating rooms for mitral valve repair surgery. Lately, however, there appears to be an emerging trend toward aortic valve replacement using the da Vinci robot.
In case you missed it… ATS Medical just announced the second successful, robot-assisted aortic valve replacement. The procedure [...]
Since 2000, the da Vinci robot has been used in cardiac operating rooms for mitral valve repair surgery. Lately, however, there appears to be an emerging trend toward aortic valve replacement using the da Vinci robot.
In case you missed it… ATS Medical just announced the second successful, robot-assisted aortic valve replacement. The procedure [...]
I recently launched a new section of this website called Heart Valve Journals. This interactive tool was designed to help patients, families and friends communicate before-and-after heart surgery. Already, several hundred people have signed up for this free service.
Amy Machtay - Mitral Valve Repair Patient
One of those patients is Amy Machtay from Raleigh, North Carolina. [...]
Thanks for your emails requesting an Ethan update!
So you know… Our little boy is now 11-months old and getting ready for his first birthday. As you might imagine, Robyn (my wife) and I continue to be amazed by just about everything Ethan does. For example, here is a video of Ethan walking on camera for [...]
It feels great to wake up, turn on the computer, click my inbox and open a patient success story.
That said, this is the story of Ashish (Ash) Yaduka from Indiana. Ash just had robotic mitral valve repair a few days ago. Here are the details:
Ashish Yaduka - Mitral Valve Repair Patient
Hi Adam,
I had a successful [...]
Congratulations to Dr. Hirsch!!!
The research foundation of the nation’s largest group of thoracic surgeons has awarded University of Michigan’s Jennifer C. Hirsch, M.D., M.S., with the Nina Starr Braunwald award, a top award for women in cardiac surgery.
As Erica Chapman, a 2008 aortic valve [...]
Since I first heard about the MitraClip several years ago, I have been fascinated by the evolution of this new, non-invasive technology used to treat mitral regurgitation without open heart surgery. (You might recall, Elizabeth Taylor underwent the MitraClip procedure last October.)
That said, I was excited to learn that Abbott Laboratories, the manufacturer of the [...]