Advanced Heart Failure Clinic

Recommendations and reviews from 1 person

• Referral from January 22, 2014
  

  Susan C. asked:

  Request for Heart Doctor & Surgeon recommendation please. My daughter age 18 has mitral valve prolapse. Today, I found out her heart problem has worsened. She has 1 valve with severe regurgitation possibly 2. The cardiologist said she would need to have a valve replacement in 2-10 years. I am petrified! Does anyone know of a hospital and a surgeon that specializes in Mitral Valve repair and replacements that I can take her to and get another opinion? I want the best most renowned heart surgeon who specializes in teen and adolescent. I can travel anywhere in the US. Thank you soooo much!

  

  Rudy Z. replied:

  Dr. Georg Wieselthaler, a heart and lung surgeon, is director of the Heart Transplant and Mechanical Circulatory Support Program at the UCSF Heart and Vascular Center. He is one of the world's leading experts in mechanical circulatory support for end-stage heart failure patients and has performed and supervised more than 350 heart transplants. He also has extensive expertise in implanting ventricular assist devices (VAD) that help failing hearts pump blood. Wieselthaler, a native of Austria, earned a medical degree at the University of Vienna where he completed a residency and surgical training. He also completed advanced training in transplantation at the Vienna Heart Transplant and Vienna Lung Transplant programs. Wieselthaler has been involved in the development of ventricular assist pumps and a total artificial heart. He has published numerous articles in peer-reviewed journals and has trained surgeons worldwide in implantation techniques and the use of VADs. He is member of national and international medical societies and is president-elect of the International Society for Rotary Blood Pumps. He is a member of the board of the European Society for Artificial Organs and former president of the Austrian Society for Implantology and Tissue Integrated Prosthesis. In April 2011, he was named director of the International Society for Heart and Lung Transplantation. Wieselthaler is professor of surgery at UCSF. Hear an interview with Wieselthaler and his patient Chris Wade, who underwent a heart transplant in April 2012. Wieselthaler and Wade discuss the devices that can sustain a failing heart until a donor heart becomes available, and how a heart transplant saved Wade's life. Clinics Advanced Heart Failure Evaluation and Therapies Program 400 Parnassus Ave., Sixth Floor, Suite A-6110 San Francisco, CA 94143-0118 Phone: (415) 353-4145 Fax: (415) 353-4166 Hours: Thursday 8 a.m. – 3 p.m. Cardiothoracic Surgery 400 Parnassus Ave., Sixth Floor San Francisco, CA 94143 Phone: (415) 353-1606 Fax: (415) 353-1312 Hours: Monday to Friday 8 a.m. – 5 p.m. Heart Transplant Program 400 Parnassus Ave., Sixth Floor San Francisco, CA 94143 Phone: (415) 353-4145 Fax: (415) 353-4166 Hours: Thursday 8 a.m. – 5 p.m. (times vary depending on the number of doctors in clinic) Conditions & Treatments Coronary Artery Disease Heart Failure Heart Transplant Ventricular Assist Device (VAD) More about Georg Wieselthaler Education University of Vienna School of Medicine 1987 Residencies University of Vienna General Hospital 1995 Selected Research and Publications Plass CA, Wieselthaler GM, Podesser BK, Prusa AM. Low-level-laser irradiation induces photorelaxation in coronary arteries and overcomes vasospasm of internal thoracic arteries. Lasers Surg Med. 2012 Nov; 44(9):705-11. Granegger M, Moscato F, Casas F, Wieselthaler G, Schima H. Development of a pump flow estimator for rotary blood pumps to enhance monitoring of ventricular function. Artif Organs. 2012 Aug; 36(8):691-9. Westaby S, Anastasiadis K, Wieselthaler GM. Cardiogenic shock in ACS. Part 2: Role of mechanical circulatory support. Nat Rev Cardiol. 2012 Apr; 9(4):195-208. Moscato F, Granegger M, Naiyanetr P, Wieselthaler G, Schima H. Evaluation of left ventricular relaxation in rotary blood pump recipients using the pump flow waveform: a simulation study. Artif Organs. 2012 May; 36(5):470-8. Geidl L, Deckert Z, Zrunek P, Gottardi R, Sterz F, Wieselthaler G, Schima H. Intuitive use and usability of ventricular assist device peripheral components in simulated emergency conditions. Artif Organs. 2011 Aug; 35(8):773-80. Strueber M, O'Driscoll G, Jansz P, Khaghani A, Levy WC, Wieselthaler GM. Multicenter evaluation of an intrapericardial left ventricular assist system. J Am Coll Cardiol. 2011 Mar 22; 57(12):1375-82. Beitzke D, Wieselthaler G, Schima H, Loewe C. Pulmonary embolism in a patient with a biventricular assist device--imaging with multislice computed tomography. Eur J Cardiothorac Surg. 2011 Mar; 39(3):415. Wieselthaler GM, O Driscoll G, Jansz P, Khaghani A, Strueber M. Initial clinical experience with a novel left ventricular assist device with a magnetically levitated rotor in a multi-institutional trial. J Heart Lung Transplant. 2010 Nov; 29(11):1218-25. Naiyanetr P, Moscato F, Vollkron M, Zimpfer D, Wieselthaler G, Schima H. Continuous assessment of cardiac function during rotary blood pump support: a contractility index derived from pump flow. J Heart Lung Transplant. 2010 Jan; 29(1):37-44. Geidl L, Zrunek P, Deckert Z, Zimpfer D, Sandner S, Wieselthaler G, Schima H. Usability and safety of ventricular assist devices: human factors and design aspects. Artif Organs. 2009 Sep; 33(9):691-5. Sandner SE, Zimpfer D, Zrunek P, Rajek A, Schima H, Dunkler D, Zuckermann AO, Wieselthaler GM. Age and outcome after continuous-flow left ventricular assist device implantation as bridge to transplantation. J Heart Lung Transplant. 2009 Apr; 28(4):367-72. Sandner SE, Zimpfer D, Zrunek P, Rajek A, Schima H, Dunkler D, Grimm M, Wolner E, Wieselthaler GM. Renal function and outcome after continuous flow left ventricular assist device implantation. Ann Thorac Surg. 2009 Apr; 87(4):1072-8. Morshuis M, El-Banayosy A, Arusoglu L, Koerfer R, Hetzer R, Wieselthaler G, Pavie A, Nojiri C. European experience of DuraHeart magnetically levitated centrifugal left ventricular assist system. Eur J Cardiothorac Surg. 2009 Jun; 35(6):1020-7; discussion 1027-8. Steinlechner B, Dworschak M, Birkenberg B, Duris M, Zeidler P, Fischer H, Milosevic L, Wieselthaler G, Wolner E, Quehenberger P, Jilma B. Platelet dysfunction in outpatients with left ventricular assist devices. Ann Thorac Surg. 2009 Jan; 87(1):131-7. Voitl P, Vollkron M, Bergmeister H, Wieselthaler G, Schima H. Coronary hemodynamics and myocardial oxygen consumption during support with rotary blood pumps. Artif Organs. 2009 Jan; 33(1):77-80. Sandner SE, Zimpfer D, Zrunek P, Steinlechner B, Rajek A, Schima H, Wolner E, Wieselthaler GM. Low molecular weight heparin as an alternative to unfractionated heparin in the immediate postoperative period after left ventricular assist device implantation. Artif Organs. 2008 Oct; 32(10):819-22. Aharinejad S, Andrukhova O, Lucas T, Zuckermann A, Wieselthaler G, Wolner E, Grimm M. Programmed cell death in idiopathic dilated cardiomyopathy is mediated by suppression of the apoptosis inhibitor Apollon. Ann Thorac Surg. 2008 Jul; 86(1):109-14; discussion 114. Sandner SE, Zimpfer D, Zrunek P, Dunkler D, Schima H, Rajek A, Grimm M, Wolner E, Wieselthaler GM. Renal function after implantation of continuous versus pulsatile flow left ventricular assist devices. J Heart Lung Transplant. 2008 May; 27(5):469-73. Aharinejad S, Schäfer R, Krenn K, Zuckermann A, Schneider B, Neumann F, Paulus P, Wieselthaler G, Wolner E, Grimm M. Donor myocardial HIF-1 alpha is an independent predictor of cardiac allograft dysfunction: a 7-year prospective, exploratory study. Am J Transplant. 2007 Aug; 7(8):2012-9. Vollkron M, Voitl P, Ta J, Wieselthaler G, Schima H. Suction events during left ventricular support and ventricular arrhythmias. J Heart Lung Transplant. 2007 Aug; 26(8):819-25. Publications are derived from MEDLINE/PubMed and provided by UCSF Profiles, a service of the Clinical & Translational Science Institute (CTSI) at UCSF. Researchers can make corrections and additions by logging on to UCSF Profiles.

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