Where can I find the best Dr. in the US to do a heart valve replacement
Operation? Preferably in the north east NY/PA area??
Dom Pondaco

I think that many people will have different views as to who the "best"
would be.
In my case, I am located in southeast Georgia.  I have been advised to
have surgery in Ocala, Florida at the Ocala Heart Institute. (And,
eventually, I will!)

Other places which have been recommended to me are Duke University
Medical Center (NC), Emory University (Atlanta, GA) and Dallas, Texas.

Since you are in the Northeast, have you considered Hartford Hospital in
Connecticut?  If I am not mistaken, in the past they staffed New
England's top cardiology units.

Good luck wherever you go.....

pat

You are blessed with a number of excellent hospitals and doctors in the
PA/NY area. I went through a quintuple by-pass last week and as you can
see I amm home and fairly active already. The fact is that valve
replacement has become a serious but fairly routine operation these days
capable of being done at a large number of hospitals. In the east
Clevland Clinic is one of the best. Mass General is fairly close behind.
If you go to the US News and World Report Home page (www.usnews.com) you
can search and find a listing of the best hospitals in the US. I found
this was an excellent starting place.

In PA, the "best" ., i.e., Alleghany General Hospital in Pittsburgh has
an excellent reputation. Lehigh Valley General Hospital where I had my
by-pass has a good reputation in cardiac care. The Heart Group is a good
place to start to find a good doctor.

NY has good ones e.g. Cornell and Columbia but I am not to familiar with
them specifically.  The PA Council on Health Care Cost Containment did
an excellent study on by-pass which included valves if done as an
additional procedure. You'll be happy to note that over 98% of the
physicians had an average or better outcome. The only advice I have is
find a hospital and doctors who does a substantial number of the type of
surgery you need yearly. It is a prime factor in outcome for you.

Last piece of advice.. The chances of a favorable outcome of a valve
replacement is very high at almost any hospital and surgeon who does
them routinely. Don't hesitate.. the fractionally better chance of
getting a good outcome for you evens out very rapidily if you risk an MI
waiting a searching for that ever distant best surgeon.

Ed

Good luck.

P. S.  I too feel better than I have in years - I am 67, had a con{*filter*}
bicuspid valve which finally calcifified to the point that the valve
opening was a little more than a a couple pencil erasures but I had the
procedure done before any damage to my heart.