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Dr. Guy was born in 1967. He grew up in North Carolina and then attended college at Wake Forest University where he had an Army ROTC scholarship and was a walk-on varsity football player, graduating Magna Cum Laude with honors in 1989. With help from the U.S. Army’s health professions scholarship program, Dr. Guy earned both an MBA in Healthcare Administration from the Wharton School of Business and his M.D. from the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine in 1994. At Walter Reed Army Medical Center, Dr.
Mitral Valve prolapse is a condition where the leaflets of the mitral valve fail close properly. It means that part of the valve rises above the plane of the valve into the left atrium. In many cases, the condition is harmless. However, it can cause mitral valve regurgitation (leaky valve allowing blood to flow backwards). It can be inherited. Although seen in men and women, it is more common in women. It can also be associated with connective tissue disorders such as Marfan syndrome.
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The most important tools a physician or other practitioner has to diagnose a mitral valve condition are history and physical examination. A thorough discussion with the patient regarding the development of symptoms is followed by careful physical exam looking for evidence of murmurs (caused by turbulent blood flow through the valve and heard with a stethoscope) and of heart failure (such as swelling of the legs for example). Specific tests that aid in the evaluation of mitral disease includes :
With mitral regurgitation or stenosis, blood backs up into the left atrium, the lungs, and the body (heart failure). The purpose of a normal mitral valve with normal function is to keep blood moving through the heart away from the lungs and to the body. You can be completely asymptomatic (no symptoms) and still require surgery in some cases to prevent long-term damage to the heart (if your valve is easily repairable and surgery is done at a high-volume mitral repair center). The symptoms, when they do occur, can be quite subtle because they usually develop slowly over time (even years).
When you are told of a problem with your mitral valve, it can be very confusing to understand the issue and your options. It can also be frightening. The questions you may be thinking about are: 1) Do I need surgery or not?, 2) What type of procedure should I have?, 3) Where should the procedure be done and who should do it?, 4) What are the risks of the various options?, 5) and can I be "cured"?
Dr. Guy earned his MD and completed surgery residency and cardiothoracic surgery fellowship at the University of Pennsylvania. He has extensive training and experience in robotic cardiac surgery. He is a former Lieutenant Colonel in U.S. Army who served 3 tours as a combat surgeon in Iraq and Afghanistan. He is Professor of Surgery and Director of Robotic & Minimally Invasive Cardiac Surgery at Sidney Kimmel Medical College at Thomas Jefferson University Hospital in Philadelphia.
EDUCATION
Wake Forest University, BS, 1989
Wharton School of Business, MBA, 1992
University of Penn, MD, 1994
TRAINING
Walter Reed Army Hospital Surgery Internship, 1995
Univ of Penn Surgery Residency, 2002
Univ of Penn Cardiothoracic Fellowship, 2004
ACADEMIC APPOINTMENTS
Asst Prof, Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences, 2005-10
Assist Prof, UC San Francisco, 2006-10
Assoc Prof, Temple University, 2011-15
Assoc Prof, Weill Cornell Med, 2015-19
Prof, Thomas Jefferson Univ, 2019-
ACTIVE BOARD CERTIFICATIONS
American Board of Surgery
American Board of Thoracic Surgery
T. Sloane Guy, MD, MBA
Thomas Jefferson University Hospital
111 South 11th Street
Gibbon Building, Suite 6210
Philadelphia, PA. 19107
Sloane.Guy@Jefferson.edu
(P) 215-955-6996
(F) 215-955-6010
Mitral stenosis is often caused by rheumatic fever (untreated strep throat causes this to occur years later). It can also be caused by congenital defects, tumors (such as atrial myxoma), complications of prior mitral valve repair, and others.