Why is the procedure being recommended?
Connect the symptoms, testing, imaging, anatomy, and expected benefit to the operation your team proposed.
Before one consequential heart decision
Your Incision Should Be Your Decision™
Should you get a second opinion before heart surgery?
It may be reasonable when the decision is consequential and important questions remain. The goal is not to find a different answer. It is to understand why the current plan fits, what may still be missing, and whether another relevant path deserves discussion.
What happens next: A member of our team will call within 2 business hours. During business hours, a same-day conversation with a cardiac surgeon or cardiologist may be arranged only when clinically appropriate and a physician is available.
- 2
- independent physician reviews
- 1
- co-signed written report
- 24 hr
- only after all required records and imaging are received and confirmed complete
$495 includes both physician reviews and the co-signed written report; it does not include a live physician consultation. One live consultation with one reviewing physician begins at $995.
More clarity can come from more than one outcome.
- 01Confirm the current planWith the reasoning and tradeoffs made visible.
- 02Surface missing evidenceOr the questions that still need an answer.
- 03Identify another relevant pathOnly when it fits the individual record.
What the review should clarify
Five checks before the decision becomes final.
A rigorous review does more than say yes or no. It connects the recommendation to the evidence, timing, alternatives, personal tradeoffs, and care setting.
How urgent is the decision?
Clarify what makes the recommendation urgent, how much time you have, and which symptoms require immediate care.
Which approach fits this case?
Compare open, less-invasive, catheter-based, medical, or monitoring paths only when they are genuinely relevant.
What are the tradeoffs for me?
Place procedure-specific risk, recovery, durability, future options, and uncertainty in your own clinical context.
Is the surgeon and center a good fit?
Consider procedure-specific experience, program resources, practical needs, and the questions you want answered before consent.
When another review may help
The right moment is before an answer you do not understand becomes a plan you cannot revisit.
If your treating team says there is time, these are reasonable moments to ask for another set of eyes.
Message Us about my situationSurgery was just recommended
Before consent or a final date, there may still be time to examine the reasoning—if your treating team says it is safe to do so.
The plan still feels unclear
You know what was proposed, but not why this procedure, why now, or what alternatives were considered.
You received conflicting opinions
A structured review can show where clinicians agree, where they differ, and what evidence may explain the difference.
The case is complex or high-risk
Redo surgery, multivessel disease, multiple valves, aortic work, or major comorbidities may warrant additional context.
You want to compare approaches
A second review can frame surgical, transcatheter, less-invasive, medical, or monitoring options when they fit the record.
You are unsure about surgeon or hospital fit
The proposed procedure may be appropriate while questions about operator, program, setting, or logistics remain.
Records, handled with you
A second opinion is only as useful as the record behind it.
Upload what you have. With your authorization, WHITEGLOVEMD can help identify and request the materials needed for review—including the actual cardiac imaging when relevant, not only the written report.
Clinical story
Cardiology and cardiac-surgery notes, symptoms, diagnoses, medications, prior procedures, and relevant history.
Testing and imaging
Echocardiography, catheterization, CT or MRI, rhythm or stress testing, laboratory results, and actual imaging when relevant.
Proposed plan
The recommended procedure, timing, planned approach, treating hospital, and alternatives already discussed.
Open questions
Conflicting measurements, missing studies, changing symptoms, risk factors, or parts of the decision that remain unclear.
WHITEGLOVE Heart Team
Two independent reviews. One decision you can understand.
A cardiac surgeon and cardiologist review the same required records and imaging independently before bringing their perspectives together. The goal is not to push you toward or away from surgery. It is to make the reasoning visible.
Cardiac surgeon
Reviews the operative indication, anatomy, proposed procedure, technical options, timing, and perioperative considerations.
Cardiologist
Reviews the diagnosis, imaging, medical context, non-operative or catheter-based options, and longitudinal heart-care perspective.
WHITEGLOVE Insights™One co-signed, patient-facing reportIndependent review · physician conference · two signaturesWHITEGLOVE Insights™
Your findings, made understandable.
The report connects its explanation to the required records and imaging and gives you practical questions for the clinicians who know and treat you.
See a sample reportPrepared for
Your findings,
made understandable.
Decision questionDoes the proposed plan, timing, and approach fit the required records and imaging?
EvidenceOptionsQuestions
What the record says
A source-linked account of the diagnosis, symptoms, test findings, imaging, and proposed plan.
Why the plan is being considered
The clinical reasoning behind the recommendation and which details support—or limit—it.
Timing and urgency
What the available record suggests about timing, with uncertainty identified for the treating team.
Options and tradeoffs
Relevant surgical, catheter-based, less-invasive, medical, or monitoring paths in patient-facing language.
Risk in context
Procedure-specific considerations, important inputs, and the limitations of any applicable estimate.
Questions for the next visit
A practical list to take back to the cardiologist and surgeon responsible for your care.
Exactly how it works
From “should I?” to one clearer next conversation.
You bring the recommendation and the questions. The records team helps assemble what the reviewing physicians need.
- 01
Message us in your own words
Tell us what was recommended, what is already scheduled, and what still feels unclear. No referral or records are required to send the first message.
- 02
We help identify what is needed
Upload what you have. With your authorization, the records team can help identify and request relevant reports and imaging.
- 03
Two physicians review independently
A cardiac surgeon and cardiologist review the same required records and imaging independently, then confer.
- 04
Receive one co-signed report
The report is delivered within 24 hours only after all required records and imaging are received and confirmed complete. Time spent gathering missing records is outside the 24-hour window. Both reviewing physicians co-sign the patient-facing report.
Important timing detail
The report is delivered within 24 hours only after all required records and imaging are received and confirmed complete. Time spent gathering missing records is outside the 24-hour window.
Begin with the written review
Choose whether you want a live physician conversation.
Both plans include the same two independent physician reviews and one co-signed written report. The difference is live physician time.
WHITEGLOVE Insights™
$495Two independent physician reviews plus one co-signed written report. No live physician consultation.
Choose this planWHITEGLOVE Consult
$995Everything in the $495 written review plus one live consultation with one reviewing physician.
Choose this planDirect-pay service. WHITEGLOVEMD does not submit insurance claims. No referral is required.
Independent educational review
A second set of eyes—not a replacement for your treating team.
WHITEGLOVEMD reviews the required records and imaging and explains the decision in writing. The treating team remains responsible for examination, testing, prescriptions, treatment, urgent decisions, and ongoing care.
Message Us about whether a review fits- Examine the required records and imaging
- Explain the reasoning behind the proposed plan
- Compare reasonable options when relevant
- Produce one co-signed written report
- Replace the treating physicians
- Examine, diagnose, or prescribe
- Order testing or direct treatment
- Provide emergency or postoperative care
Frequently asked questions
What patients ask before seeking another opinion.
Direct answers about fit, confirmation, differences, records, physicians, timing, cost, and urgent care.
Should I get a second opinion before heart surgery?+
It may be reasonable when the decision is consequential and important questions remain—for example, when the plan or timing is unclear, the procedure is complex, opinions conflict, or you want to understand relevant alternatives before consenting. If the situation is urgent, ask the clinicians responsible for your care whether there is time for another review.
Can a second opinion still help if it agrees with my current team?+
Yes. Confirmation can make the reasoning, expected benefit, risk, timing, alternatives, and remaining questions easier to understand. A useful review does not need to manufacture disagreement.
What happens if the reviewers see the decision differently?+
The report documents the reasoning and the record supporting it so you can discuss the difference with your treating clinicians. It does not direct treatment or replace the physicians responsible for your care.
Who reviews my case?+
A cardiac surgeon and cardiologist independently review the same required records and imaging, confer, and co-sign one patient-facing WHITEGLOVE Insights™ report. Their surgical and cardiology perspectives are included at both service levels.
What records and imaging are needed?+
The exact materials depend on the decision. They may include cardiology and surgery notes, echocardiography, catheterization, CT or MRI, laboratory results, prior operative reports, and the proposed plan. With your authorization, the records team can help identify and request relevant missing materials.
When does the 24-hour turnaround begin?+
The report is delivered within 24 hours only after all required records and imaging are received and confirmed complete. Time spent gathering missing records is outside the 24-hour window.
What is included at $495 and $995?+
The $495 plan includes two independent physician reviews plus one co-signed written report; it does not include a live physician consultation. The $995 plan includes the same written review and adds one live consultation with one reviewing physician.
Do I need a referral or need to travel?+
No referral is required, and the review is completed virtually. You can begin from home, and the records team can help identify the clinical information needed for review.
Should I delay urgent care while waiting for a second opinion?+
No. Do not delay urgent or time-sensitive care to wait for an online review. Continue following the treating team’s instructions, and call 911 or seek immediate emergency care for possible emergency symptoms.
If your treating team says there is time
Tell us what still feels unanswered.
You do not need every record—or the right medical words—to begin.
A member of our team will call within 2 business hours. During business hours, a same-day conversation with a cardiac surgeon or cardiologist may be arranged only when clinically appropriate and a physician is available.
No referral · no travel · records help available