Yesterday, December 23, 2008, I met with the surgeon. Great guy! His name is Joseph Lamelas and he is the chief of cardiac surgery at Mount Sinai Hospital, Miami Beach.

Lauren and her brother Bill accompanied me to my visit with Dr. Lamelas. Dr. Bill Smoyer, my brother-in-law, is a physician and researcher specialized in pediatric nephrology (kid's kidneys), here is his bio.

Dr. Lamelas first listened to my heart and lungs and then proceeded to discuss his procedure. Lauren, Bill and I peppered the surgeon with questions for almost an hour. I've been preparing for this visit for several days. Not only did I have my high-powered support team (Lauren and Bill) with me, I also had a written document with about 15 questions ranging from medical issues to the financial stability of the hospital and the composition of Dr. Lamelas' staff. He answered every single question! Lauren, Bill and I never felt Dr. Lamelas was rushed, impatient or that any question was out of bounds. Quite the contrary. His comportment and the attention he gave every question was remarkable. Bill, who makes his living in academic medicine, comes across many doctors, from young students to high-powered seasoned ones, and he was favorably impressed with Dr. Lamelas' demeanor.

I felt so very comfortable with this man, I scheduled the surgery right then and there. February 19, 2009 is the date.

My preparation included reviewing what I knew about aortic valve replacement surgery, but I mainly focused on learning everything I could about Dr. Lamelas and the kind of surgery he performs. The two most important pieces of information I acquired were: Dr. Lamelas' extraordinarily low mortality rate and the video Dr. Lamelas made in conjunction with a company named Medtronic, which makes, among other things, heart valves. In the video Dr. Lamelas personally describes his minimally invasive procedure, step by step. Amazing!

One of Dr. Lamelas' characteristics that caught my attention was his belief that any procedure that enters the chest cavity through the sternum is not minimally invasive. That was important to me because I wanted to avoid that at all cost. I hear it's very painful. Other, so called, mininally invasive techniques require cracking your sternum in some fashion. OUCH! With his method, he makes a relatively small cut perpendicular to the sternum, between two ribs, large enough to fit  acouple of fingers, a few instruments and the new valve. He also pokes a couple of other holes in your groin and chest where he runs all the plumbing needed to keep your blood flowing through your body after he stops your heart. Dramatic! With his approach, pain and infections are greatly reduced and the scars are very small. Below is a post-surgery picture of one of his patients that he uses along with his video.



Here's the link to the video. You'll need to download the free Real Player to view the video. Viewer discretion is advised - there's some blood in the video; but if you're a cook and / or watch TV or rent movies, you'll be fine. As a matter of fact, one of the notable characteristics of Dr. Lamelas procedure is the low blood loss compared to other more invasive approaches. I like that. It's important to keep as much of your own blood as possible. I watched the film twice and plan to view it a few more times before February 19.

Riding home after the visit, Lauren, Bill and I were unanimous in our favorable impression of Dr. Lamelas. We're all confident that he is the right man for the job and I'm looking forward to February 19 when Dr. Lamelas and his team will replace my aortic valve.