A Michigan farmer returned to work his land “feeling better than ever” after having open-heart surgery on two failing valves.
The procedure was a last resort for Marvin Schmidt, 88, who was told by another major health system that attempting the operation would be too risky.
Surgeons at the University of Michigan Health Frankel Cardiovascular Center replaced his leaking mitral and tricuspid valves, which caused shortness of breath for several years.
“I didn’t expect to come out of this surgery so wonderfully, with a better quality of life than I had for a while,” said Schmidt, who lives on 290 acres in Pittsford, Mich., with his wife.
“I can spend time outside doing things I enjoy without holding back.”
Schmidt underwent a minimally invasive catheter-based procedure to repair his mitral valve in November of 2023, which failed soon after.
A second attempt at repair was also unsuccessful.
In January 2025, Schmidt’s cardiologist referred him to a large health system out of state.
After several days of the testing, doctors declined to perform an open surgery because they felt he was too high risk.
In April 2025, with his heart showing signs of failure, Schmidt visited U-M Health cardiac surgeon Matthew A. Romano, M.D., for a second opinion.
Romano, whose clinical and research focuses on complex valvular heart disease, is director of the Frankel Cardiovascular Center multidisciplinary Mitral Valve Clinic.
Experts at the Mitral Valve Clinic coordinate personalized treatment plans, offering access to minimally invasive procedures and new devices as well as open surgery.
Romano and his colleague in interventional cardiology, Stanley J. Chetcuti, M.D., initially assessed whether Schmidt was a candidate for “redo” transcatheter procedure before deciding to pursue open surgery.
“This was the only procedural option to correct his failing valves” Romano said.
“Fortunately, we have an experienced team that frequently sees these complex cases. We feel confident that we can take on these very challenging patients and offer with good outcomes when they have been told otherwise.”
The Schmidts, who live on 290 acres in Pittsford, Mich., say that Marvin is back to enjoying spending time outdoors “without holding back.”
Both Marvin and Brenda agreed with the plan to move forward with surgery in winter 2026.
When a cancelation popped up in November, they agreed to come earlier.
The surgery occurred one day after Schmidt turned 88 years old.
“At that point, I was going to be stuck sitting in a chair doing nothing and getting progressively worse for the rest of my life, and they offered me a chance to move forward,” he said.
“Everyone was so kind to us. A whole team came to my room and sang ‘Happy Birthday’ to me — I just felt like this is where I was supposed to be. I had complete confidence in them.”
On Nov. 6, Romano replaced both of Schmidt’s ailing valves. He also corrected a congenital heart defect by closing a hole in his atrial septum.
The successful operation lasted a little under two hours.
Schmidt went home six days after surgery to continue his recovery.
“I was confident that we could help him and get him through this,” said Romano, who routinely performs high risk operations.
“I remember seeing him the next morning on rounds. He was sitting in a chair smiling and telling me that he felt better already and wanted to know how he could repay me. I told him that his smile and knowing that he would be going back to tend to his farm was all I needed.”
Schmidt says he felt minimal post-surgical pain, and his endurance improved steadily over time.
He and Brenda Schmidt have returned to their outdoor routine, gardening and performing maintenance on their property’s trees.
“When I first got home, I could walk two minutes at a time, and now I can walk briskly over an hour with no need for a cane or a walker,” he said.
“I am just so pleased and thankful to be feeling this way. It’s the greatest relief. Dr. Romano and the entire staff gave me the finest gift I could hope to receive.”
If you care about heart health, please read studies about how eating eggs can help reduce heart disease risk, and Vitamin K2 could help reduce heart disease risk.
For more information about heart health, please see recent studies about how to remove plaques that cause heart attacks, and results showing a new way to prevent heart attacks, strokes.
Written by Noah Fromson, Michigan Medicine.
