Charlie Rose Science Series
Click here to watch previous episodes of the Charlie Rose Science Series
The Dark Side: The Inside Story of How The War on Terror Turned into a War on American Ideals
by Jane Mayer
Buy it
by Jane Mayer
Buy it
12/25/2007
Alain Carpentier
A conversation with Dr. Alain F. Carpentier
Keywords:
A conversation with Dr. Alain F. Carpentier. In 2006, Dr. Carpentier performed an emergency mitral valve repair procedure on Charlie Rose, Charlie fell ill while en route to Damascus to interview Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.
DVD
Charlie Rose DVDs on Amazon.
Charlie Rose DVDs on Amazon.
Audio
Audio available through Audible.com.
Audio available through Audible.com.
Transcripts
Transcripts available through Voxant.
Transcripts available through Voxant.
Thank you Professor Alain Carpentier for your dedication to originating the technique and for teaching cardiac surgeons how to repair rather than to replace a "leaking" mitral valve. I sm glad that Charlie Rose chose you as his surgeon and benefitted from your remakable skill as a surgeon and your gentle kindness as a physician. In Paris, 12 years ago you repaired the mitral valve of a 60 year old male patient of mine and four years ago I watched as you repaired the mitral valve of a brave five year old little girl who was also my patient. You saved the lives of both the 60 year old man and the five year old child. Last July, when I was 80 years old, I needed a valve repair for a sudden severe mitral valve leak. After speaking to your office, I was operated upon by one of your best cardiac surgical trainees, Dr. David Adams, who is Chief of Cardio-thoracic surgery at Mt. Sinai Hospital in New York City. Thank you for teaching Dr. Adams how to perform your mitral valve repair. Like you, David is skillful, kind and empathetic to his dangerously sick patients - including myself, an 80 year old retired cardio-thoracic surgeon. You have saved my life, too. Francis Coughlin, MD, FACS
GRAND MERCI POUR UN TRES GRAND MONSIEUR ENORMEMENT DE RESPECT
Fascinating stuff. I admire doctors like these. Such inspiration.
Dr. Carpentier dedication to improve the lives of people with mitral valve failure saved my life in 1992. Dear Charlie Rose Because of his research a teflon ring was used to repair my valve instead replacing it with an artificial one. I was 54, my grandmother at 54 mercifully passed away instead of living out the rest of her life as an invalid. I try my best to watch your program as much as I can. Last night after finishing Christmas dinner I laid down for a while listening to something on PBS. Dozed off and then I heard Dr. Carpentier's and your voice and could not believe my eyes and ears. Here is the doctor that together with my wonderful Iranian surgeon has allowed me to lead a normal life. I don't know what precipitated your surgery but I went under the knife within 30 days after my symptoms of congestive heart failure, which I thought was just a bad cold. Within 24 hrs I was up and about but had to undergo a battery of tests to see how bad the mitral valve really was. The rest is history. Mr. Rose I wish you many years of good health, listen to your heart and give my kindest regards to Dr. Carpentier. I could not help shedding a tear of happiness for such a wonderful human being.
Thank you Dr. Alain Carpentier for all you did for Charlie Rose and for the world.
Thank you, Dr. Carpentier, for helping to keep Charlie Rose in my life.
Brilliant programs tonight! Dr. Carpentier and Cr. Venter, a great double header on the related subjects of medical and scientific advancements by heroes in these fields. Perhaps in the near future the Charlie Rose Show can focus on a medical malaise we don't often hear about - emphysema - and the scientific and medical advances occurring [or also failing to occur\ towards the treatment and cure of this horrible disease. Some questions: (1) Will stem cell research enable an individual sick with emphysema to anticipate the bio-engineering of replacement lung tissue? (2) As the emphysema sufferer experiences increasing failure to breathe, do there already exist alternatives to help the body "bypass" the native lungs and yet benefit from "breathing" [e.g. external artificial "lungs"? (3) Are there or will there be medications or devices to assist failing lungs at the oxygen transfer level and at the carbon dioxide removal level? As I observe a once active good friend suffer from this disease, as I remember the painful last years of life of a troubled cousin, I am moved in a timely way to ask about advances toward treatment and cure of emphysema, and I hope this Show will do what I cannot and bring the latest knowledge to the table and before the Show's camera.
I would like to comment on Dr. Carpentier In Vancouver BC at the University of BC we have a Doctor who replaces Values without surgery, He uses a procedure very similar to Angio-Plast , It is non invasive and he did the operation on closed circut TV for 1500 Surgeons gathered togeather in a ballroom in Las Vegas. He did it on a very sick 84 year old, who went home the next day . No operation, no heart machine just putting in a new value going up through your veins. As to the heart muscles, They now know that Heart muscle will heal itself if allowed to rest. A lady in her thirties was having a very difficult birth and she also was fighting a bad flu, her heart worked so hard that it litterly turned to mush, She was going to die. They put her on the transplant list but that would take time so they had nothing to lose. They implanted an artifical heart, leaving her damaged heart in place. A year later she was still alive and they got a heart for her, they operated and to their amazement her heart had completely healed. In another case they implanted in a gentleman not an artifical heart but an artifical pump to aid the heart , His heart also completely healed. Medicine moves so very slowly so doctors are still treating heart disease by stressing the heart saying its a muscle work it, When the correct way to treat the heart they now know is to rest it. Charlie Rose might consider looking into this and having someone do an update to this show. Kathy
The world of medicine would benefit if more doctors espoused his level of personal accountability, innovative scientific inquiry and comprehensive commitment to patient welfare. Thank you, Dr. Carpentier.
Sahah Sewall must have been a last minute substitution into tonight's conversation, but make no mistake about it, she will be a major player. There were no umms and ahhs, she was in total command of her positions on positions about Iraq. And she agreed with me on several key points. Anything I have ever publicly stated about anything can probably be looked up, so go ahead, make my day. My stock on the secret slave exchange is about to go up, so those in a position to do so should buy now. Yes, I would marry the girl if she wasn't already spoken for, just because she so smart.
Terrific interview, I really liked Dr. Carpentier explanation of the medical progression from no help or cure for mitral valve to where it is today. In 1960 my father died of another complication, in which the doctors told him there was nothing wrong, that the pain was all in his head. 2 weeks later my father hemorraghed to death. An autopsy proved the doctors were wrong. Back then there was only x-rays and they missed the problem. I also agree you should keep active, but rest and relaxation are also a part of a healthy life style.