In case you missed the breaking news... Juwan Howard, Michigan basketball coach and former NBA all-star, just announced that he had successful aortic valve and aneurysm surgery by Dr. Himanshu Patel at University of Michigan Health in Ann Arbor, Michigan.

I just received a great question from Peter who asked me, "I was diagnosed with aortic valve regurgitation. Can this procedure be done safely using minimally invasive techniques? What questions should I ask to figure out if the surgeon has enough experience and expertise?"

Not all patients with aortic valve disease need a mechanical or biological valve replacement. Let me repeat that... Not all patients with aortic stenosis or aortic regurgitation need a mechanical or biological valve replacement.

There has been A LOT of discussion lately about the success of the TAVR clinical trial for low-risk patients with aortic stenosis.

Over the past several months, I've noticed a steady rise in the number of patients in our community who are diagnosed with aortic regurgitation. That said, I wanted to create new educational resource to help patients with a leaking aortic valve.

Together, we've learned lots about the advantages of mitral valve repair procedures which include long-term durability and freedom from re-operation. In the process, I've attended wonderful mitral valve conferences and I've even gone inside live surgeon workshops dedicated to teaching best practices for mitral valve repair.

Together, we have learned about many different types of surgical procedures used to treat heart valve disease and related cardiac disorders including coronary artery disease, atrial fibrillation and aortic aneurysms.

In the past, I've filled this blog with hundreds of stories about mitral valve repair procedures. However, over the past 12 months, I have started to hear and report about aortic valve repair surgery -- from patients and physicians.

Talk about a great coincidence...