names of mitral valve surgeons (experienced)

[Innercalm]

I am the anxious Mom of a 34 year old son with mvp with regurgitation, both anterior and posterior leaflets are affected. We are at the stage where we need names of experienced surgeons. Recommendations so far are Dr. Vincent Gaudiani in Redwood City, California (very experienced) and Dr. Bruce Lytle at the Cleveland Clinic. So far his valve doesn't meet the criteria for surgery (no symptoms and left ventricle not enlarged) but his atrium is enlarged. I am deathly afraid that if we don't make a surgeon decision soon, his heart muscle will decompensate and there will be more risks than there are now. Help me find a surgeon on west coast or midwest. Thank you so much. I am overly anxious to be in a position to allay other Mothers' fears and have all of the surgery be in the past. Susan

[ALCapshaw2]

Most patients start with a recommendation from their cardiologist who should know the local / in state surgeons personally or at least by reputation. Where does your son live?

Dr. Lytle is well known for his expertise in Radiation Damaged Hearts. One of our members, Perkicar, used him for her surgery because of radiation damage for Hodgkins Disease. You could click on her personal profile to find her messages or do a SEARCH for keyword "Lytle" to find references to him.

The Mitral Valve is sometimes REPAIRABLE but not all surgeons have the training to make repairs. That topic has been discussed so maybe a search for "mitral repair" might bring some leads.

Good Luck with your quest.

'AL Capshaw'

[labguides]

Dr. Laks at UCLA repaired our daughter's mitral valve and made the atrium smaller.

[Christian]

My wife is seen regularly at the Cleveland Clinic and we're familiar with most of their surgeons. Her age (32) and problem (mitral regurgitation involving both leaflets, no symptoms, no heart enlargement) practically mirror those of your son. We were told repeatedly that Drs. Cosgrove or Gillinov are CCF's best for isolated mitral valve repairs.

She's going in for surgery in about eight days. Dr. Cosgrove is doing the honors. I believe there are five or six other members here who have Cosgrove valve repairs.

If you'd like to compare your son's echo results to my wife's, browse through this thread:

http://www.valvereplacement.com/forums/showthread.php?t=6171

There's about a year of her history there, ending with the Cleveland Clinic recommending surgery.

[Christina L]

was my surgeon. My cardiologist here in Colorado told me if I wanted to try for a repair, that Dr. Cosgrove was my best bet. I, too, had both my anterior and posterior leaflets pretty messed up. Dr. Gaudiani in California told me over the phone that my valve was "one of the nastiest variety of MVP." Dr. Cosgrove told me he definitely could repair it, no question, and so I went with him - also because my cardiologist highly recommended Cleveland - as my cardio told me, it is not only the surgeon that is important, it is the entire medical team and Cleveland has been there/done that with all types of valves - nothing surprises them as they have done hundreds and hundreds of valve surgeries.

Good luck with your decision!! Your son is going to be fine whatever he receives - repair or replacement. BTW, I had chosen a tissue valve if I would have had a replacement. That is another decision that will have to be made before he goes into surgery.

P.S. If your son's left atrium is enlarged, it could lead to atrial fibrillation. IF he goes into atrial fibrillation, he should have his valve surgery ASAP, as when the valve is repaired or replaced, the AF could very well go away. However, it is best to have the surgery before a-fib rears its head.

Christina L

[distances]

Dr Vincent Gaudiani did my mitral valve repair two years ago. I would highly recommend him. Both he and his partner are very experienced, skilled & knowledgeable. He also has a great bedside manner. Pre-op and post-op both he and his staff were wonderful. Sequoia Hospital was well-worth the 2 hr drive. I would definitely recommend Dr. Gaudiani--no matter where you are in the country, it would be well worth the trip. Good luck.

[Paul_N]

Had mine at 39 ... guess my mom was anxious too! Can only speak to my experience. Try this link and see if you think it's worth making a phone call.

http://www.uchospitals.edu/physicians/valluvan-jeevanandam.html

PM if you want more details.

Paul

[maka]

Hi
I had my mitral valve repaired less than 3 months ago. My surgeon was Karl Krieger Professor and Vice Chairman of the NY Presbyterian Hospital in NY. (212-746-5152) My cardiologist has been after me for more than 3 years to have the operation even though I had no symptons but had severe regurgitation. Dr. Krieger was highly recommended to me. His bed manners are wonderful. He listens and answers all your questions. And he has a superb team. I was very concerned about having a REPLACEMENT rather than a repair and what truly made me take the decision was when I asked him about repairing the valve.....his answer was...I CAN REPAIR ANY VALVE but there are some valves that are not worth to be repaired because of their condition, and this decision will be for me to make
He did repaired it although I was told by his team that it was very "tricky" and that someone with less skills and less experience would not have been able to do it and would have replaced it.
Hope this helps

[weekycat]

Three years ago by Dr. William Northrup III in Edina, MN. Both of my leaflets were in pretty bad shape, and two of the chordae tendenae had ruptured.

He did a great job, I'm good as new and on NO medication whatsoever. I'm not sure what state you live in, or how far you are willing to travel, but Dr. Northrup's words before my surgery were: "I'm 95% sure I can repair your valve because...well, because I usually can." I liked his confidence, and he came through for me. Good luck with your future decisions regarding your son.

[perkicar]

I am the anxious Mom of a 34 year old son with mvp with regurgitation, both anterior and posterior leaflets are affected. We are at the stage where we need names of experienced surgeons. Recommendations so far are Dr. Vincent Gaudiani in Redwood City, California (very experienced) and Dr. Bruce Lytle at the Cleveland Clinic. So far his valve doesn't meet the criteria for surgery (no symptoms and left ventricle not enlarged) but his atrium is enlarged. I am deathly afraid that if we don't make a surgeon decision soon, his heart muscle will decompensate and there will be more risks than there are now. Help me find a surgeon on west coast or midwest. Thank you so much. I am overly anxious to be in a position to allay other Mothers' fears and have all of the surgery be in the past. Susan

Hi Susan,
any updates on what you've found/decided? I"m a big fan of Cleveland Clinic for surgery, I definitely have tons of faith in their staff. I wish I lived there so I could use them for all my heart care. My cardio here is OK but moody. The last time I saw him he was the most outgoing I'd ever seen. I loved the doc I had before my surgery, then the bad boy had to move away.....I've been toying around with the idea of switching to another doc in the group.
As others have said, you can't go wrong with Dr Cosgrove, and I've heard good things about Gillinov as well. I went with Dr Lytle because of his experience with Radiation induced heart damage--he is also a guru in re-operations and "tricky" (love that technical term!) surgeries.
Let us know what you find out/decide.

[BillCobit]

As others have said, you can't go wrong with Dr Cosgrove, and I've heard good things about Gillinov as well.

Cosgrove is universally recommended - he is THE man. Gillinov fixed my MV (both leaflets involved and large perforation in one due to endocarditis). I am a very satisfied customer of the CCF.

[MitralMan]

...is the man in NYC for minimally invasive mitral valve repair. He does hundreds of them a year.

From what I understand, Cosgrove is top of the pops too. I suspect that any of the recommendations you get on this board represent the top 1% of surgeons for these kinds of procedures.

I went with Colvin at the recommendation of my cardiologist, who wasn't affiliated with NYU (with a competitor, in fact).

Surgery was December 22, 2004.

Last week, one year to the day, I was skiing in northern Vermont.

Miraculous!!

Good luck to you!

[Marty]

...is the man in NYC for minimally invasive mitral valve repair. He does hundreds of them a year.

From what I understand, Cosgrove is top of the pops too. I suspect that any of the recommendations you get on this board represent the top 1% of surgeons for these kinds of procedures.

I went with Colvin at the recommendation of my cardiologist, who wasn't affiliated with NYU (with a competitor, in fact).

Surgery was December 22, 2004.

Last week, one year to the day, I was skiing in northern Vermont.

Miraculous!!

Good luck to you!

Not a bad idea to ask your cardiologist which surgeon they would choose to operate on them if they needed mitral valve replacement or repair. You might find that you have a wizard in your own back yard. I was referred to Cleveland by an internist but on the advice of my cardiologiist went to a hospital 10 miles from my house with good parking for visitors. Went home AM of fourth post op day. No regrets.

[baradonai]

It may be one of the better kept secrets here in Nashville, Tennessee, but St. Thomas hospital has some of the best in this region anyway. My surgeon, Dr. Ball (http://heartinstitute.stthomas.org/physicians/) replaced my mitral valve with a St. Jude endoscopically, so they didn't have to open my chest. I was walking my daughter down the aisle at her wedding 10 days after my surgery. This was last May, and I feel pretty good. :p

[MikeHeim]

I don't know if you're still looking, but I wanted to be the second person to put in a plug for my surgeon. I also had a Mitral Valve Repair and atrium reduction with Dr. Laks at UCLA. I've been told by several sources that he is the best repair specialist on the West Coast. Mine ended up being a more complicated repair than expected pre-surgery, and I was told that most surgeons would have given up and replaced the valve. As it is, all tests have shown that my repair is very good and should last a lifetime.

[Atlanta Sweetheart]

in Atlanta with Dr. Doug Murphy specializing in Mitral Valve robotic repair and also Dr. Alan Wolfe. They are in the group Peachtree Cardiovascular. I am a lot older than your son (55) but I was a symptomatic and my heart was not yet enlarged. The volume of blood in the left atrium had doubled though in two years and the Dr.'s all thought it was best to go ahead with the repair. My regurgitation was severe. My surgery was in July 2005! I feel great!

My son at 28 had his pulmonary valve replaced, in 2004. He was born with Tetrology of Fallot and corrected as an infant. The valve replacement was done at Emory Hospital and he is doing great, lives in CO and ski's etc. I know how frightened you are regarding your son as I too have been there twice. The benefits of surgery far outweigh the life we would lead without the repair. Good luck and you'll be in my prayers.

[djexec]

Susan,
I am exactly 1 week and two days post op from having an aortic aneurysm replaced with dacron and having my aortic valve modified by Dr. Alan Wolfe who, as mentioned above, is with Peachtree Cardiovascular. I am tremendously happy with the outcome so far. I walked a mile this a.m. :D It sounds like you are on the west coast. If I were there I would have probably gone to Dr. Sharo Raisssi @ Cedars Sinai LA. He was incredibly helpful and generous with his time, answering any questions that I had...he even gave me his cell phone number if I had additional questions. Anyway, I know my mom was also freaked out about my condition but she has been amazed at my recovery. If you would like to discuss this in person PM me and I will call you. Its the least that I can do, as others on this site helped make my journey to the mountain much calmer and peaceful.

Be well...
deane

[CCRN]

Why don't you come to Nashville? St. Thomas Hospital is rated one of thetop ten in the country for heart surgery and we have a number of surgeons who perform minimally invasive valve surgery as well. Dr. Stephen Ball, Dr. Steven Hoff, Dr. John Lea are a few of our docs. My surgeon just went to teach at Vanderbilt Hospital and I'm living proof of his skill level. :) We have a nine room surgery suite dedicated to cardiothorcic surgery and a critical care intensivist/cardiovascular anesthesiologist in house 24/7. Need more than that?

[Innercalm]

My son and I saw Dr. Gaudiani in redwood city, California on 12/27/05. He told us unequivocally, that he could repair my son's bileaflet mitral valve which is leaking in several places. No ifs, ands or buts. My son's LVIDD was at that time 62. He didn't feel that surgery was urgent yet but told us when it would be urgent was when the LVIDD hits 69. Thus far no symptoms. We plan on seeing Dr. Cosgrove this month (I hope) at Cleveland Clinic. Please keep praying for us. Me, the mom is terrified that our time will run out. I am very impatient and If it was me, I would have elected to have the surgery by now and have it over with. Susan (innercalm)

[Paul117]

It lookslike there are alot of good docs out there. I'll put in a plug for mine too. I had Mitral valve repair 12/22/05 by Dr. O'Hair at St. Lukes Milwaukee wi with the DaVinci robot and went home in three days the robot is made in sunnyvale CA so i'll bet there is one out there by you.

good luck this isn't as scary after its over.

[Divine Diva48]

I know it's a long ways from you, but I had my mitral valve replaced at Duke University Medical Center by Dr. Donald Glower. He is in the top ten ranking CardioThorasiac Surgeons in the country. I HIGHLY reccomend him.

[PJmomrunner]

He is in the top ten ranking CardioThorasiac Surgeons in the country.

Could you please tell me where I can find this list?

[Mary]

Could you please tell me where I can find this list?

PJ,
I just happen to think that you might want to consider the surgeon who operated on me: Dr. Nicholas Kouchoukos. He's on the BAV Foundation board (with Raissi)and he was president of the American Thoracic Society 1999-2000.
You might try a search and see what you think.
Mary

[Innercalm]

My son and I finally made the decision to have his surgery performed at the Cleveland Clinic even though it is a long flight from Arizona. Dr. Cosgrove was able to repair the "complicated" mitral valve and the defected leaflets.
It was done minimally invasively (four inches) on 44/20/06 and on 4/24 he was discharged walking everywhere with little pain just soreness and some fatigue when overdoing it. Since coming home he has managed at his own place with me and his Dad and friends filling in when necessary.
Is there any way to know how long a repair will last when it is decided that a repair can be done? Also, is it usual that after a while the coumadin can be
discontinued?
Thank you everyone for your support and prayers. Innercalm

[Mary]

I'm glad that he was able to have the repair. Your decision to take him to Cleveland Clinic was obviously the right one.
I don't know the answers to your questions, but you might try posting a new thread in post-surgery to see if you get more responses.
Congratulations once again.

[marky]

I did lots of research as well before mine. I was at first very interested in Min. Invasive..but later most concerned with Repair!
I went with Dr. James Gammie at the University of MD
He has a very High success rate of repair.
Mine was bi-lateral complex repair, and it did take him a very long time to do it, but he was able to repair it.
There is quite a bit of info on him on the web. I know that he has had Patients as far away as England fly in to have him do the proceedure.

It is not an easy decision to make, I encourage you to talk to as many surgeons as you need to until you are happy with them.. my cardiologist gave me free reign to speak to as many as I needed.
Best to you

[rbacher]

I am reading this thread with interest. I have had mitral valve regurgitation for years and finally need surgery. I am 55 yr old. I live in Lancaster PA. They do heart surgery here, and maybe they are quite good, but how do I know? I met with the doctor who is doing the Evalve clip study at University of Pennsylvania, Dr Howard Herrmann. I was hoping to get the clip! But I did not fit the profile they need for the study and was told I must get conventional surgery. Big disappointment. Dr Herrmann recommended the guy who does mitral valve repair there at Univ of Penn. His name is Dr Michael Acker.
Has anyone on the forum had a repair or replacement by him? The other possibilities, after reading this thread, would seem to be Dr Cosgrove at the Cleveland Clinic (several posts about him) and Dr Gammie at University of Maryland (one post about him, and Univ of Md is closer to home than Cleveland). Thanks for any help you can give me.