Which would you choose for heart surgery?

I would go to Stanford Medical Center because my DIL is a cardiac recovery nurse there. As for which surgery, I don’t anything about it.

I would only follow the advice of my heart doctor who knows my medical history and not the advice of strangers.

I would consult with 2–3 cardiac surgeons if I had the time to shop around. I’d want to know why they prefer whichever they recommend. I’d do research on outcomes.

I would heed the advice of my ACHD specialist and the doctor performing the surgery.

I would go literally anywhere besides an online anonymous question and answer forum to help make this decision.

I would follow the doctors’ recommendation.

But I will say, the “wow!” factor is high for the catheter procedure. I had two stents (little wire mesh tubes) installed in my coronary arteries last month. The scar is a little red dot on my wrist. They worked on the arteries right next to my heart from there. It’s astounding.

I probably should have phrased the question differently. I guess I was hoping to hear from someone who had to actually make the choice, rather than depending on people to advise me and then take said advice.

Sorry guys…this was my first question. I’ve written several others but deleted them. TBH, I think I’m afraid I’ll get yelled at for a question. Just need to get my feet wet, I think. But thank you for responding; I appreciate your time and thoughtfulness.

And I misinterpreted the question. I read the first part as where you wanted to go for the surgery. But good on you for explaining what you were looking for. Stick around. We bark but don’t bite too often!

@smudges I asked a similar question when I came here 10 years ago when a prostatectomy was looming on my horizon. I wanted to know if I should go with the old, experienced surgeon who did open surgery or with the younger surgeon using the DaVinci robot.
I found the discussions here very helpful.

(I went with the younger guy and am happy with the result.)

I also ended up sticking around. I’m glad I did.
(And glad I asked the question. It brought me here. )

I would talk to a structural heart specialist, and likely get a second opinion on the risks/benefits of these options. My sister-in-law is a PA who works on a structural heart team and I can guarantee you she would offer the same advice (talk to your doctor(s)).

You’re right to do your homework, but this is definitely the wrong place to do it. Anyone smart enough to know the answer isn’t dumb enough to post medical advice over the internet with a person they’ve never examined, reviewed their surgical/medical history, etc.

Also, welcome to Fluther. I sincerely wish you all the best with whatever treatment you and your care team decide. Best wishes.

I would weigh the choices, get several opinions from several doctors, and then I would ask the doctors, “What would you pick if you were me?” My decision would be based on the combination of my opinion, the other doctors’ opinions and the surgeons’ answers to my question “what would you pick if you were me?”