I had aortic valve replacement in September of 2014 performed by Dr. Castro. It was an outstanding experience.
I was very scared of surgery which was unfortunately unavoidable. As a result, I did a lot of searching and reading. I spoke to several doctors and surgeons.
The key is to find who the best surgeons for this type of surgery is, and Dr. Castro is rated among the top 5-10 in the world - or at least among ones I could find or have access too. The hospital where he and his team operate, Sequoia Hospital in Redwood City, specializes in heart surgery and is also top rated.
My top and only choice was Dr. Castro and I spent one month dealing with insurance to approve me going to him. Why did I do that?
(a) He is very fast. The amount of time you spend on heart/lung machine, while your heart is stopped is very important. (the more time you spent - the more chances to get out brain damaged). For most surgeons the time your heart is not beating is close to 1hr or more. Dr. Castro had mine stopped for only 29 minutes (his average is 30min). I heard his fastest time is 17 minutes.
(b) Second important point is the team. Dr. Castro has been 15 years at Sequoia and he and his team can read each other's mind. To be that fast, one needs a good team, and Dr. Castro has that. He operates together with another top rated heart surgeon Dr. Adam Harmon, who is equally good. They are very much liked by the team, nurses and hospital staff. This is very important too.
(c) Dr. Castro's mortality rate (and that of Sequoia) in the last 3 years is ZERO. He would not undertake any new risky procedure unless it has zero mortality rate. He cares about that. Thus, one can be sure that he does not want to ruin his record. However, the week I was released he operated on 89 year old lady changing both valve: aortic and mitral. This is confidence!
(d) He is very calm, especially under pressure. This is very important if things go wrong.
(e) He is not overworked overcommitted, by his choice. He operates Tuesdays and Thursdays, so he is fresh and rested for your surgery. The rest of the days he is seeing patients in the hospital and he and his team were at my bedside every day I was there.
(f) His two anesthesiologists (Dr. Bradly and Dr. Paris) are the two angels. They were extremely important to me as I was very reluctant and scared to go into this surgery. They will talk to you, calm you down and suddenly - you wake up - and it is all over!
(g) The care after surgery works very well in Sequoia. I slept most of the time and every time I woke up, I felt stronger. The nurses would take good care of you and I would recommend that you just rest and not worry about anything, as you will be totally taken care off by the excellent staff of nurses.
(h) The incision Dr. Castro made is quite small - less than 4" and the scar is less and less visible with time. To me this is unimportant, but if you are a lady and care for it - he does a great job.
Finally, Dr. Castro is very approachable, down to earth and very charming. Once you meet him, your heart will tell you: "stop, do not look any further - I want this guy!" He will call you back personally, answer your email and help you in any way you may need him. I was respectful of his time knowing that many people need him critically.
My recovery was fantastic (normal recovery time is 6 weeks). Dr. Castro told me that some of his former patients went to meetings 3 weeks after the surgery. I went to work in 1 week! (not that I did much, but I made the point). I continued into, second week part time, third week overtime and in the fourth week I even picked up another consulting job. I hope I beat every record on the books!. (my work is desk / computer job, so not very hard), but still it took far less than I expected. It has been 5 weeks since my surgery and I feel very strong, walking without getting tired and I have energy like never before. read more
