Having the family around might be real nice

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Posted by John Behle on September 07, 2001 at 16:29:00:

In Reply to: Re: Dr. Chang at UCSF posted by Helena Broadbent on September 07, 2001 at 16:09:57:

The family would be another factor. You may not feel like heading back to Vegas right away, but may want out of the hospital sooner. Hospitals aren't the best place to get any rest once you are stable and recovering. It is very nice to have family members around during the first few days.

I really liked having the followup from Dr. Millar and his staff personally. I don't think there was a day when one or more of them didn't visit. His office is right next to the hospital. I've heard many complaints about followup at other hospitals or even none from the surgeon or their team. It was nice having them and their notes, history, etc. available. At one point one of the nurses tried to put me on Zestril, which I have severe reactions to. My careful eye and that of Dr. Millar's staff helped prevent that situation.

I don't recall seeing if there are any other procedures you need at the time. The majority of Dr. Millar's MAZE's are also done in conjunction with mitral valve repairs and other procedures. He appears to be a long time pro in that area also. In my case, all that was needed was the MAZE.

I also really like the idea of no drugs after the surgery from what I read here. It seems that they can actually complicate things a great deal from many of the posts and experiences of others that I read. There was no rush and more probably a reluctance on their part to put me on any beta blockers, etc.

I left the hospital with only Coumadin (blood thinner) for a week or so and Lortab for pain and have never had to have any meds of any kind after the surgery. Dr. Millar also seems to really care about his patients and their success. He seemed quite excited about my success at the six week checkup and emotional about his ability to help and even cure patients. Sadly, that seems to be a very rare phenomenon these days.

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