Minnesota Surgery Reviews

Minneapolis Children's Hospital  (Minneapolis, Minnesota)

What CHD does/did your child have? Tetralogy of Fallot

What was done to correct this CHD? Repair of VSD, Homograft (Aorta from a donor) to replace pulmonary artery

Where was your child's surgery done? Minneapolis Children's Hospital (Minnesota)

Who did the surgery? Dr. David Overman, Dr. Frank Moga assisted

When was the surgery done? March 7th, 2003

What did you think of the hospital and staff? I thought that the hospital and staff were top notch

What did you think of the surgeon? I thought the surgeon was wonderful; he came around a lot after the surgery to check on our son.  We had been readmitted, due to a flu virus or something not related to the surgery, yet Dr. Overman came by every day to see how things were going.

Would you take your child back to this facility/surgeon? Yes, we would and will go back, our son will need more surgeries as he gets older to replace the homograft, we have no plans on changing hospitals or surgeons.

Any advice for others looking at this facility/surgeon? That is a tough question, we definitely wanted the best, we spoke with our cardiologist prior to the surgery and felt him out about the surgeons, he works closely with these surgeons daily.  The benefits of our cardiologist working well with the surgeons definitely factored in, as did the proximity of the hospital.  We would have however, traveled anywhere if we felt that a different surgeon would make a difference.  Our Cardiologist said, "You can have the best surgeon in the world, and he may stub his toe the morning of the surgery and that could make all the difference." basically he meant that people can go looking for the best and not get he best due to unforeseeable circumstances.  you have to trust the people that do this everyday.

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Minneapolis Children's Hospital  (Minneapolis, Minnesota)

What CHD does/did you child have? Coarctation of the aorta, mitral valve stenosis, aortic valve stenosis

What was done to correct this CHD? For the coarctation, they cut out the narrowed piece and sewed the two ends together. Her mitral and aortic valve stenosis have not been fixed yet.

Where was your child's surgery done? Children's of Minneapolis

Who did the surgery? Not sure of his name.

When was the surgery done? January 28, 2004

What did you think of the hospital and staff? Very friendly and helpful

What did you think of the surgeon? Thought he looked young but turned out to be great

Would you take your child back to this facility/surgeon? Yes

Any advice for others looking at this facility/surgeon? Best in the state.

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Mayo Clinic (St. Mary's Hospital), Rochester, MN

What CHD does/did your child have? :: Ebstein's anomaly, ASD, WPW

Where was your child's surgery done? :: Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN (St. Mary's Hospital)

Who did the surgery? :: Dr. Joseph Dearani

When was the surgery done? :: Mar 16 2006

What did you think of the hospital and staff? :: The Mayo Clinic is very nice. There are shuttles everywhere and people in the buildings to assist you in getting to the correct location for your appointments. The hospital was nice and the staff was very kind. The only thing I didn't like were the visiting hours in the ICU. They closed in the evening and didn't re-open until 8am. The nurses, however, were very flexible and did allow me to spend some extra time there even when the unit was closed.

What did you think of the surgeon? :: Dr. Dearani was very good. He spent lots of time with us the day before surgery discussing our options and answering our questions. He is an expert when it comes to Ebstein's and has a lot of experience with it. He came out of the OR with a huge smile and told us that the surgery was a great success! He came by to see us almost every day that we were there and even came up from the OR to say good-bye to us before we were released from the hospital to go back home.

Would you take your child back to this facility/surgeon? :: Yes.

Any advice for others looking at this facility/surgeon? :: Make sure to talk to the child life specialist. They will help to explain everything to your child in simple terms. They also provided us with a laptop to use in the hospital to provide updates to family and friends. Also, a new support group is starting there that meets at the Ronald McDonald House Community Room the fourth Tuesday of every month at 7pm. Check it out if you're there! Call Val Kiger at 507-281-8898 for more info.

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Mayo Clinic (St. Mary's Hospital), Rochester, MN

What CHD does/did your child have? :: ASD, Pulmonary artery relocated

Where was your child's surgery done? :: Rochester, Minnesota

Who did the surgery? :: Dr. Francisco Puga

When was the surgery done? :: Jun 26 2006

What did you think of the hospital and staff? :: They were awesome. The staff was very accommodating. They are still great when we call. I can't say enough about them.

What did you think of the surgeon? :: He is amazing. He was very nice to us and our son. He talked to us on our level.

Would you take your child back to this facility/surgeon? :: yes, definitely

Any advice for others looking at this facility/surgeon? :: Go there it is great. We were amazed at the people from other countries, and different parts of the country who come there for treatment. We were so pleased with the service we received.