Eric's Guestbook

Eric I'm really glad to hear you found a Dr & medical team you're comfortable with! That first experience you was a shame, and you did the right thing in reaching out, checking into other alternatives a place that didn't feel right to you. Sometimes I think some insurance companies and Dr.'s forget just how important the patients level of comfort, trust and belief in their Dr. really is to the overall outcome and well being of the patient. Especially when you're dealing with major heart surgery, you really must fell comfortable with the surgeon and feel like he or she is the right one for you. Good Luck with your procedure!! Also in my experience this website and the people on it can go a long way in helping you feel comfortable and help you get through the process, you and your family. Hope all goes with Dr. Adams and his team from Mt. Sinai, good luck, take care of yourself.

Just checking in to see how you're doing Eric, you had contacted me about my opinion/ experience with Dr. Duke Cameron at Johns Hopkins Hospital. I Just wanted to know if you ended up setting up a surgical consult with Dr. Cameron? Hope you're doing well, sending positive energy and healing your way.

You're very welcome Eric, I know how stressful all this OHS information is. I did not do an additional consult other than Dr. Cameron, my cardiologist is also at Johns Hopkins Dr. Shellee Nolan and she recommended him. I'll admit I was stubborn, I only went to see a cardiologist to stop being nagged about it. I fully expected to be told you're fine, see you in a year. I got the shock of my life when I heard I needed to have valve replacement surgery. I was diagnosed with MVP in my early 20's by a Dr. I don't even remember now. I saw Dr. Nolan and within 2 min. she said she didn't think I had MVP but I had a bicuspid aortic valve instead and ordered several tests to confirm it and see the state of things. The tests came back and confirmed what she suspected and also that I had some serious stenosis as well as an aortic aneurysm that was at the level of needing surgical attention. She suggested Dr. Cameron to me, telling he'd be the best for me. I went for the surgical consult with Dr. Cameron, I met with his physicians assistant at first then with Dr. Cameron and he went over the test results explaining it all to me. He gave me some printouts of medical illustrations of the heart made notations and drawings on it specific to my condition. My spouse and I asked lots of questions, he was able to answer them all. He made a recommendation for timing for my surgery saying I wasn't at the level of "You have to have this next week, but that it should be done sometime in the next few months." He gave me his card and told me if I had further questions I could call or use JHH's MyChart to send them to him. After thinking things over and doing more reading,I did have a few more questions and he answered those questions. I was given the information for the person who handles the surgical scheduling for Dr. Cameron, this was in Feb.if I recall and I ended up having my surgery on May 12th. Everyone I mentioned Dr. Cameron's name to within the hospital and outside told me wow, he's really good, you got the best. Basically saying, "you don't want to have to have open heart surgery, but if you do Dr. Cameron is the guy you want doing it!!" Here are the URL's for a few videos featuring Dr. Cameron, I know you can't tell everything from videos but you can get a feel for his bedside manner and personality as well as the Cardiology Program at Hopkins Hospital: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A9v3LQsadZE https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q3nZ6lXOab8 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DCAMO_ekb0g https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oHVqeI1sMK4 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NyTuxtbBtBo https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Y1Fw3DxDdg Also the cardiac care unit at the Zayed Tower at Hopkins is very nice as well and Hopkins is used to people traveling to seek care there so, they have an entire Medical Concierge Service set-up to help people with logistics. Can't say enough nice things about the entire staff in the cardiac care unit. I was in the hospital from Mon. until Sat. afternoon, the rooms are all private rooms, with your own bathroom, there is a built in pull out couch that becomes a sleeper, your wife could stay with you the entire time if you like, once your are out of ICU. My spouse stayed overnight while I was there, I think that made us both feel better. This may sound strange but this may be a sign that Dr. Cameron is the one for you, for your surgery. I'll explain… I haven't looked at my guestbook on the heart valve site in a while, work has been crazy lately.I usually see the newsletter email announcements and occasionally look at them but, for some reason the other night when checking my email I decided to open the email that I first thought was the standard journal news letter email and it turned to be your email asking me about Dr. Cameron. The odds are very high that I wouldn't have even noticed that email but I did for some reason. So… Could be a sign… I hope I answered your questions, and the information I gave you helps. Good Luck Eric! If you think of anything else feel free to ask.

Hi Eric, I got your message asking about Dr. Duke Cameron. My experience with Dr. Cameron was excellent, I'd highly recommend him and John's Hopkins Hosptial as well. I'm a little older than you but like you, I was more or less asymtomatic with the exception of some shortness of breath with heavy yard work & such. And like you I didn't want to have the surgery. But after the consult and Dr. Cameron answering all my questions and doing some reading I realized it was the best thing to do it while I was in good health otherwise. I had no other health issues. My valve replacement very went well. I did well enough that I was able to come home after a 5 day stay instead of the predicted 7 day. I was also originally told I'd need an artificial tubing piece to replace a segment of my aortia to fix an aneurysm that developed as a result of struggling with a failing valve. Once Dr. Cameron actually saw the segment he realized he had enough length left with the aorta to join the segments and did not have to put the artificial tube segment in. I was very glad not to have any more artificial pieces than necessary. No one wants to have heart surgery, valve repair or replacement but if you do Dr. Cameron is one of the top surgeons in the area. I know it's scary to think about but the recovery is generally faster and easier if you're in good health otherwise like you are now . I would suggest you make the appointment with Dr. Cameron, talk with him, ask questions, share your concerns. But, don't wait, don't ignore the issues. BTW Adam's book was very helpful too, it helped ease some of my fears and concerns and I had a better idea of what to expect during the surgical experience, Hosptial stay and recovery.