Video transcript
Professor Alfieri, is there a topic or a question that I didn’t ask but should have asked? Is there anything in your interest or your experience that you’d like to share?
During our full conversation, we touched on many points. I think that one thing, one message, should be very, very important. Every patient is unique. The genetic profile of the patient, the wishes of that patient, the history of the life of a patient up to the present time. Every patient has the right to choose whatever [treatment] he likes. Also, the clinical profile can be very different from patient to patient. A very important message is that we have to personalize the treatment very much. We should not give the same treatment to everybody, and the therapy should be very much personalized. So, I think that is a very important aspect to consider in the modern treatment of heart valve disease. The other important point I think is this. Particularly when we have older and fragile people, we have to treat the most important aspect of the disease. It is what I call ‘skillful neglection.’ Try to avoid unnecessary treatments. Really try to just focus on the important aspect of treatment that can reduce the problem of the patient. So I think that is a very important aspect which has to be taken into consideration. [A doctor] has just to address what is responsible for the not-well-being of the patient. And this is particularly important for older and fragile patients. The other important thing is the simplicity [of treatment plan]. Try not to do things in a very sophisticated way or to prolong the treatment of the patient. Just be simple and effective, and address the problem of that particular patient. So these are the principles that have been the basis of my clinical practice all the time. I think they should be taken into consideration for the well-being of the patients.
Professor Alfieri, thank you very much for sharing your wisdom and knowledge, but much beyond that. It’s a pleasure to have this conversation. We hope to come back to you in the future as cardiac surgery, and all the specialties around cardiac surgery are further developed. Thank you very much!
Okay, thank you. It was a very nice conversation. I enjoyed talking with you. And I hope that some patients can also take advantage of our conversation. Thank you. Thank you!