I had severe mitral valve regurgitation, which only manifested itself to me when I wound up in ER with severe shortness of breath, suggestive of congestive heart failure.

The cardiologist who attended me said I was a perfect candidate for mitral valve repair (as opposed to replacement), a much preferred option since successful repair should last me a lifetime. He said he couldn’t emphasize enough how critical it would be to have the right surgeon and recommended Dr. Loulmet without hesitation.

It was my great fortune to have met Dr. Loulmet, who showed nothing but kindness, attention to my concerns and an unhurried approach to answering all my questions. He explained the surgery procedure thoroughly and even showed me the procedure on screen (at my request).

I was scheduled for surgery immediately and was completely satisfied with the care in hospital by all his associates. Following surgery I was able to access a hotline 24/7 to get answers to all of my concerns as I recovered. Dr. Loulmet’s office team is wonderful too, from his administrative assistant to his nurse practitioner.

I am 100% satisfied with my care before, during and after my surgery. My cardiologist is also fully satisfied with the result, saying it was a complete success. Only weeks after surgery I am walking further and faster than ever, including up stairs and hills. What I previously thought of as being out of shape, I now know was a case of my poor heart struggling.

Submitted Feb. 1, 2021

I want to share my personal experience after receiving robotic mitral valve repair from Didier F. Loulmet of the NYU Langone’s Heart Valve Center and Robotic Surgery Center.

Before I share my experience, let me provide you with my strong opinion of the experience with Dr. Loulmet: If you have mitral valve prolapse in need of repair and are an eligible candidate for this procedure, go see Dr. Loulmet and his colleagues. With their state-of-the-art surgical procedure, they will change your life with the least amount of discomfort and down time.

I am a 58 year-old male who discovered in Nov 2017 that I had mitral valve prolapse with severe regurgitation. My health was otherwise excellent. I had no symptoms and I only sought out the advice of a cardiologist because my brother was diagnosed with the same issue. He alerted all my family members that his condition was hereditary, so all my siblings, including me, sought out a cardiologist.

My cardiologist confirmed that I had mitral valve prolapse with severe regurgitation and firmly recommended that I have my mitral valve repaired or replaced immediately; otherwise, my health would begin to deteriorate. I sought out a cardiac surgeon who specialized in the process; however, his recommendation was replacement of my mitral valve through a full sternectomy (open heart surgery). The recovery would be up to 8 weeks and I would have to have the replacement again replaced in 10 to 15 years.

My sister recommended NYU Langone as she had read about its cutting edge robotic surgery. So, I went to visit Dr. Loulmet at NYU Langone, which is the best decision I ever made.

My surgery was performed on Feb 20 2018 at NYU Langone. I was fortunate to not have been anesthetized until I arrived in the operating room. Why was this a good thing? It gave me great confidence to see the inside of this futuristic operating room complimented with large contingent of medical personnel, including Dr. Loulmet. They were all there for me!

The next thing I knew (7 hours later), I awoke in the recovery room—no tubes down my throat. There were only 4 or 5 puncture marks on the right side of my chest and the pain was minimal. Within 2 days (Feb 22), I checked out of NYU Langone and, with my partner, took an Uber home.

Dr Loulmet recommended that I not return to work (risk management consultant working in an office situation) for 3 weeks. However, within 3 days, I was able to work a full day from home and began walking 5 miles each day. I was not as tired as I expected—I had a lot of energy. One week after the surgery, I returned to my office (don’t tell Dr. Loulmet), though I only worked 6 hours each day.

Dr. Loulmet’s staff has followed me all the way, reaching out to me regularly and scheduling post surgery visits.

My repaired mitral valve is working perfectly and my blood pressure is lower. I am now almost 4 weeks out from my surgery and I feel great. My “puncture wounds” have almost completely healed.

Not sure what the future will bring, but, if your mitral valve needs repair, I highly recommend NYU Langone, generally, and Dr. Loulmet, specifically. Dr. Loulmet and the robotic surgery procedure will significantly improve your life.

Submitted March 14, 2018

Dr. Loulmet performed a robotic mitral valve repair on me. Three years later I still have leakage, still have a murmur, and may now be going to another hospital and another cardiothoracic surgeon for a repair, which would mean a whole new, repeated heart surgery.

Submitted May 22, 2015

Dr. Loulmet's skill with mitral valve repair is inversely proportional to his fluency with English, but who cares? He is a terrific cardiothoracic surgeon who performed minimally invasive robotic surgery. I'm fine 17 months later with normal blood pressure and no longer a lifelong murmer.

Submitted May 4, 2013