The term medical tourism is relatively new. But, more and more, I am hearing of patients traveling to places like India for surgical procedures including heart valve repair and heart valve replacement.
On this note, I recently saw a video about Robin Steele from Mobile, Alabama. Robin suffered from severe mitral valve regurgitation and a-fib (irregular heartbeats). After evaluating his options and his budget, Robin had mitral valve repair in Bangalore, India at the Wockhardt Hospital, an associate of Harvard Medical International, under the care of Doctor Vivek Jawali, Chief Cardiac Surgeon.
This video describes Robin’s experience before, during and after his mitral valve repair in India. To watch this video simply press the play button. Please make sure the volume on your computer is turned up.
As with any cardiac procedure - in any location - there are advantages and disadvantages. I can understand why patients like Robin utilize medical tourism to (i) save money and (ii) benefit from skilled surgeons, like Dr. Vivek Jawali. I can also understand why other patients (like me) chose to stay local for their valve surgeries.
I hope this helps explain a little bit more about medical tourism and heart valve repair in India.
About The Author: Adam Pick is a double, heart valve surgery patient and author of The Patient’s Guide To Heart Valve Surgery, a unique book which integrates the clinical facts of heart valve surgery with the personal experiences of 78 former valve surgery patients. To learn more about Adam and his heart valve surgery book, click here.
Are blood transfusions required during open heart surgery?
These are great questions. However, I’m not going to address all of these questions in a single, very long post. Instead, I’m going to answer these blood transfusion questions one-by-one over the next month in multiple blogs.
To start though, I’m going to write about the history of the blood transfusions. Specifically, I am going to offer research about the first blood transfusion.
On that note, I want to wish everyone who visits this website - the patients, the caregivers, the nurses, the cardiologists and the heart surgeons - a very happy and very healthy new year!
May this be an incredible year for you and all the people around you!!!
And… Thanks for all your help in 2008! Your thoughts, your ideas and your comments in this blog have made a positive impact on the lives of many, many, many, many, many people around the world!!!
This email just came in from Lisa, a registered nurse from Colorado, who had mitral valve repair surgery less than two weeks ago. I thought you might appreciate reading about Lisa’s experience, her attitude toward heart surgery and her early recovery. Here is what she wrote:
Dear Adam,
I had my surgery on Thursday, December 11th and things went pretty well. The surgeons were able to repair my mitral valve, which should last 20 years or so before any additional work may need to be done.
Lisa Darr - Mitral Valve Repair Patient / Nurse
I still have some prolapse and regurgitation, but as an active 35-year old patient, I was really fearful of having a valve replacement. I lost a good deal of blood in the surgery and was given transfusions. A special “Thanks!” goes out to all those who donate blood. As an emergency room nurse, I have great confidence in United States blood banks even though I have seen some studies which suggest blood banks can be risky.
Due to continued blood loss post-surgery, I remained intubated for 7 hours after surgery (just in case I needed to return to the OR to stop the bleeding). What a miserable experience for me and my family, I was conscious and unable to communicate, constantly choking on the vent tube and unable to open my eyes because they were caked shut with goo.
I’m just returning from my annual echocardiogram with Dr. Ben Rosin, my cardiologist at Torrance Memorial.
As some of you already know, these annual exams are fairly stressful. The last thing I, or anybody, want to hear is that a re-operation is required.
Dr. Ben Rosin & Me
In light of the stress (and perhaps a little fear), I have lots-and-lots of good news to report. Here are some highlights from my third annual echocardiogram following my double valve replacement:
The replaced aortic valve is performing well. There is only minor leakage (1+) around a suture. The heart valve flaps (aka leaflets) continue to look thin and, most importantly, seal tightly.
The pulmonary replacement valve is also doing well with trivial minor regurg.
The size of my left ventricle is now categorized as “normal”.
There was no pericardial effusion.
Overall, Dr. Rosin said my heart is doing very, very, very, very well.
Wooo-Whoooooooooo!!!
Keep on tickin!
About The Author: Adam Pick is a double, heart valve surgery patient and author of The Patient’s Guide To Heart Valve Surgery, a unique book which integrates the clinical facts of heart valve surgery with the personal experiences of 78 former valve surgery patients. To learn more about Adam and his heart valve surgery book, click here.
All rights reserved. Use of this website, Heart-Valve-Surgery.com assumes acceptance of the terms herein. All logos, pictures and trademarks in this site are property of their respective owner. This website has been developed and presented by Adam Pick, author of "The Patient's Guide To Heart Valve Surgery." Patient's stories herein, and the language used regarding heart valve replacement and heart valve repair, is intended to inform and educate. HOWEVER, it does not imply that you or anyone else will receive the same outcome. As with any medical procedure, results will vary among individuals, and there could be pain or substantial risks involved. These concerns should be discussed with your health care provider prior to any treatment so that you have proper informed consent and understand that there are no guarantees to healing. Adam Pick does not offer medical advice on this website. This information about valve replacement and repair is offered for educational purposes only. Do not act or rely upon our information without seeking independent professional medical advice. The transmission of this information does not create any relationship between you and Adam Pick. Adam Pick does not guarantees the accuracy, completeness, usefulness, or adequacy of any information available at or from this transmission. Heart Valve Replacement and Heart Valve Repair
