Janet's Journal

Marie Myers  I loved my electric recliner for a month post op. I really don’t think you need a hospital bed. The electric recliner made it easy to get up myself without any pressure on my arms. It is a great idea to have someone to help you for the first 2 weeks. The exhaustion I felt was very surprising. 

Robert Miller  I second what every everyone else said. After my return I "slept" in our electric recliner couch with a bunch of pillows for behind my back and on the sides. You just sit down, press the button and then you are in a somewhat comfortable sleeping position. When you want to get up, press the button and you can get up just from there. Fairly easy. Later on I moved back to our bed. That was harder to get in and out. So if you always wanted to buy a bed that has an electric "pop up", that's the time to get it. I don't think you need to get a hospital bed unless you have other health conditions that make movement difficult. A recliner is still easier to get up because it puts your back up higher and you exit towards where you are pointing. A hospital bed doesn't prop you up as much and more importantly, you have to twist 90 degrees to get out. But once you are in it, you can make it flat which makes sleeping a bit easier compared to an electric recliner/couch. 

Rich Butela  Electric recliner all the way.  Also practice getting up and down without using your arms prior to the surgery.  

Richard Munson  Wow, never heard of double booking. Except at a hotel. I always leaned toward the seasoned performer vs. the gifted new comer. In the bar hopping comparison it was much simpler. Best looking was the winner. 

J Alexander Lassally  I like your approach of hedging and running parallel games (working the bar!). Just wanted to share initial impressions. 

If you are going for a trial - be eyes open for a failed attempt. The bigger question is not what if it fails, but what does that mean for the actual repair / replacement down the road.   In my opinion, interventional cardiologists lack much of the sophistication of surgeons, so just take that with a grain of salt.  Clips for mitral are, in my opinion, still early days. I don't know your age. 

I did toil over the sternotomy and the thoracotomy and picked the former for my own reasons. Both are good choices. Just make sure if you have the young person, you really check them out.

One of the biggest fallacies people make is blanket praising surgeons as "fantastic" or "so good" or "you are in great hands" without any actual data. 

Are you aware of STS outcomes data?  This is actual hospital and procedure excellence data. It is not really granular, but it may help you get that "ah-ha" feeling that you deserve! Happy to direct. 

Kimberly Eisenhut  It is hard for me to find any information about tricuspid valve repair outcomes. I would be going to Bluhm Cardiovascular institute in Chicago when it is time. I am having such a hard time finding actual numbers for this, as most surgeries are on other valves and not primary tricuspid.
Good luck Janet with your search. Keep us posted on your decision and findings.

Yumiko Ishida  If you are still trying to figure out which way to go, I suggest getting a second opinion from a cardiologist. If that doesn’t help, get a third. And if you have other medical conditions, consult those specialist, too. For me, my neurologist’s opinions weighed heavily in my decision. The surgery itself is important but just one of many aspects of the process. Be very careful about double booking a surgery. Your insurance will probably only authorize one, and it may not be the one you want. 

Anna Rakowicz  Welcome Janet, going through the same process now trying to find the right surgeon and the right hospital.  

Susan Lynn  Janet - Keep looking until you find the surgeon you trust. Confidence in your doc and team are everything on game day!

Deena Z  Susan is on it!  Once you find your dream surgeon, things get better.  Anxiousness will still be there, but hopefully not as sky high. Focus on your surgeon’s outcome stats!

Valerie Allen  Yes, what Deena says. Also how many procedures like yours he/she does each year. It should be a lot as experience greatly matters.

J Alexander Lassally  It is like going to a bar to pick someone up... You don't always find what you want right away!  (Seriously, I did >6 consults, so keep going!)