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After A Mitral Valve Repair With Complications... Leslie Is Home!

By Adam Pick on January 31, 2008

Hey everybody,

Good news!

Leslie is home following her mitral valve repair. (You may remember a blog that featured Leslie as she was preparing for robotic mitral valve repair.)

After five days at UCLA Medical Center, Leslie has now entered the recovery phase of heart valve surgery. Below, you will find an interesting account of her surgery which was longer than most surgeries due to some cardiac surgery complications that were fixed during surgery. Great job Dr. Shemin! To learn more about Dr. Shemin, click here.

Here is Leslie's email update

A quick note to say thank you for the amazing kindness and support throughout my adventure. I am home with my doggies and in my own bed, on my own patio and as anyone who has been in the hospital knows, home is better.

I had a successful mitral valve repair (not replacement) but was much more complicated than the doctors predicted. The surgery was 12 hours. Waking up with a ventilator is not recommended. Many amazing stories are to be told from this experience.

In general, UCLA hospital staff was very kind. Yet the thought of going back into a hospital again makes me physically ill because the environment is so artificial (I guess it has to be) and our bodies want fresh air and sunshine.

Anyway I am taking it slow, have home nursing and physical therapy which is helping, and there is recuperation to do. I am very grateful to have this behind me and to have had a good outcome. Love you all. I appreciate beyond measure your support and kindnesses and generosity in so many ways. It is good to know you have friends. As I get stronger I will be in touch with you personally.

More later, much more, you know you can never shut me up!

Hope all are well.

Love,
Leslie

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Written by Adam Pick - Patient & Website Founder

Adam Pick is a heart valve patient and author of The Patient's Guide To Heart Valve Surgery. In 2006, Adam founded HeartValveSurgery.com to educate and empower patients. This award-winning website has helped over 10 million people fight heart valve disease. Adam has been featured by the American Heart Association and Medical News Today.

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