Inova Heart and Vascular Institute: Back on the Bike

Michael Gnatek, a 43-year old competitive cyclist from Leesburg, recently underwent surgery to fix a leaky heart valve -- a condition known as mitral valve prolapse. Dr. Paul Massimiano, a cardiovascular surgeon at Inova Heart and Valve Institute, was able to perform a minimally invasive procedure to repair the valve, avoiding the traditional open-heart surgery Gnatek was originally told he had to have.

When Dr. Massimiano told Michael he would probably be discharged after about 24 hours in the hospital, he was "skeptical ... because I had been told by other hospitals and surgeons that my minimum stay in the hospital would be five to six days, even with the minimally invasive procedure." But it was true, due to the commitment of Inova's doctors to "techniques that reduce the trauma and stress of an operation" so patients can get back to their normal activities in the shortest time possible, with the least amount of discomfort possible.

For more information, visit http://www.inova.org/heart

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Category:

Science & Technology

Tags:

• mitral valve
• cardiac surgery
• heart surgery
• patient stories
• Inova
• Fairfax
• Hospital
• health
• system
• leesburg
• cycling
• heart
• valve
• vascular
• institute

[mgnatek]

Cortes - glad you are recovering well. I'm sorry that you're skeptical. But I was indeed home the next day. You're right...length of stay doesn't really matter. All that really matters is that the surgery is successful and that patients take the time they need to recover properly. Be well.

[cortes0505]

Out of the hospital in 24 hours? I'm skeptical. I've just had this surgery myself (came home yesterday) and my stay was 4 days. I think I could have come home a day earlier, but the next day would have been all but impossible.

Really, though, what does it matter if it's 2 days or 4 days? This is a heart repair after all, and there isn't much choice in the matter. There is no question that minimally invasive surgery is amazing and the recovery time is very short.