Dr. John Valente
General Surgery
Anniston, AL
35 years experience male
Locations
Northeast Alabama surgical Associates
Anniston, AL
About
SpecialtiesDoctors may have more than one area of specialty interest. Board certification in a specialty area means the doctor has completed formal training and has practice experience in that specialty, and has passed the certification examination from the corresponding accredited medical specialty board.
Doctors may have more than one area of specialty interest. Board certification in a specialty area means the doctor has completed formal training and has practice experience in that specialty, and has passed the certification examination from the corresponding accredited medical specialty board.
General Surgery
Languages spoken
English
Doctor Q&A
39 Answers
2 Agrees
The number of answers this doctor has agreed with.
A 37-year-old female asked:

Dr. John Valenteanswered
35 years experience
See your doctor now: Left sided pain could be from many things, such as diverticulitis, kidney stones, bowel trouble, adhesions, ovarian cysts, congested veins. In other ... Read More
5.2k viewsAnswered >2 years ago
A 24-year-old female asked:

Dr. John Valenteanswered
35 years experience
Very common cancer: Breast cancer is common. Most risk factors only indicate danger, but are not causes. Early detection is key (self exams monthly and mammograms). Sev... Read More
5.1k viewsReviewed >2 years ago
A 49-year-old male asked:

Dr. John Valenteanswered
35 years experience
Blocks receptors: Micardis (telmisartan) is an angiotensin receptor blocker or arb. So...Your kidney makes a hormone called renin that provides one step to eventually ... Read More
5.1k viewsAnswered >2 years ago
A 16-year-old female asked:

Dr. John Valenteanswered
35 years experience
Sometimes: Hernias come in a number of types. Those in the groin are commonly divided into inguinal (in the groin) and femoral (below that). These need to be f... Read More
5.1k viewsAnswered >2 years ago
A 20-year-old female asked:

Dr. John Valenteanswered
35 years experience
Yes, but seek help: Varicose veins can cause lots of problems and lead to swelling, restless legs, skin discoloration or worse over time. Three times as many people hav... Read More
5k viewsAnswered >2 years ago
A 33-year-old female asked:

Dr. John Valenteanswered
35 years experience
The list is long: The most frequently removed organ by general surgeons in the us is the gallbladder. Pain that persists or returns can happen. With gallstones, one m... Read More
5.1k viewsReviewed >2 years ago
A 27-year-old female asked:

Dr. John Valenteanswered
35 years experience
Should be OK: The umbilicus is key for the baby, but not for mom. A mesh repair should have no effect on your pregnancy provided you are not planning to have a rep... Read More
5.1k viewsReviewed >2 years ago
A 24-year-old female asked:

Dr. John Valenteanswered
35 years experience
Depends : Most such pills do increase your risk of deep venous thrombosis. Depending on how bad the vein problem is, varicose veins can also clot but usually i... Read More
5.2k viewsAnswered >2 years ago
A 34-year-old male asked:

Dr. John Valenteanswered
35 years experience
Possibly: Chronic infection starting in a pre-existing sinus or cyst could be minimally sore, cause little drainage and still result in fatigue. But as the onl... Read More
5.2k viewsAnswered >2 years ago
A 34-year-old member asked:

Dr. John Valenteanswered
35 years experience
Keep clear of toxins: Livers are great at surviving insults like drugs and alcohol (in moderation). Liver cancer usually happens when you have hepatitis or cirrhosis. Som... Read More
5.2k viewsReviewed >2 years ago
A 28-year-old female asked:

Dr. John Valenteanswered
35 years experience
Hang in there: Your grandfather has stage 4 stomach cancer. Treatment can't cure this. Perhaps time can be extended by chemotherapy. With such widespread disease,... Read More
5k viewsReviewed >2 years ago
A 56-year-old female asked:

Dr. John Valenteanswered
35 years experience
Get the scan: Even fairly large breast lumps can be benign. They are usually cysts or solid "fibro-adenomas". On ultrasound these lesions are expected to be smoot... Read More
5k viewsReviewed >2 years ago
A 52-year-old female asked:

Dr. John Valenteanswered
35 years experience
Unknown for now: Strontium helps in the management of bone mets from breast cancer. It also increased sensitivity of breast cancer cells to radiation therapy, so it m... Read More
5.2k viewsAnswered >2 years ago
A 27-year-old female asked:

Dr. John Valenteanswered
35 years experience
Very possible: Gallbladder symptoms include pain, nausea and loose bowels after fatty foods. Many folks naturally eat less and stick to low fat foods to avoid the p... Read More
5.2k viewsReviewed >2 years ago
A 34-year-old female asked:

Dr. John Valenteanswered
35 years experience
Can you wait?: The vaccine is ok, but following major surgery your immune response to it is suppressed for a while. If you could wait a month the vaccine might work... Read More
5.1k viewsReviewed >2 years ago
A 34-year-old male asked:

Dr. John Valenteanswered
35 years experience
Yes, usually: Your symptoms are frequently seen upper GI problems in people with or without cancer. Yes, untreated pancreas cancer usually progresses to cause even... Read More
5.2k viewsReviewed >2 years ago
A 27-year-old female asked:

Dr. John Valenteanswered
35 years experience
Probably not: All cancer is a genetic disease in some way but if you mean did you inherit a gene that causes cancer, then this history, as bad as it may seem, is fa... Read More
5.1k viewsReviewed >2 years ago
A 47-year-old member asked:

Dr. John Valenteanswered
35 years experience
Unlikely: The liver is an abdominal organ that feels pain when its capsule, or fibrous coat, is stretched or torn. Swelling, such as one might expect from an a... Read More
5.2k viewsReviewed >2 years ago
A 29-year-old female asked:

Dr. John Valenteanswered
35 years experience
Depends : The location and cause of the abscess is of importance and so is the reason for your hysterectomy. However, the basic approach is the same. The infec... Read More
5k viewsReviewed >2 years ago
A 22-year-old male asked:

Dr. John Valenteanswered
35 years experience
Only with effort: Gerd worsens with factors that push stomach acid back up, such as being overweight, eating large meals and laying flat...Or factors that relax your lo... Read More
5.2k viewsReviewed >2 years ago
A member asked:

Dr. John Valenteanswered
35 years experience
Perhaps...but: The level sounds high. Depending on your age this could be related to GI tumor or blockage of your bile duct system from tumor or benign conditions. ... Read More
5.1k viewsAnswered >2 years ago
A 37-year-old male asked:

Dr. John Valenteanswered
35 years experience
Perhaps...but: Diverticulitis is an inflammatory condition of the colon. Attacks can occur once or repeatedly and usually are treated with antibiotics, reserving su... Read More
5k viewsReviewed >2 years ago
A female asked:

Dr. John Valenteanswered
35 years experience
See a surgeon: Lots of conditions seem like gallbladder attacks, but a normal ultrasound isn't final. One condition, called biliary dyskinesia causes cramping (inst... Read More
5.1k viewsAnswered >2 years ago
A 29-year-old female asked:

Dr. John Valenteanswered
35 years experience
See a pediatrician: Mesenteric adenitis (inflammation of lymph-nodes of the intestine), can be mistaken for appendicitis. I'll bet a ct was done. Viral and other self-l... Read More
5.1k viewsAnswered >2 years ago
A 32-year-old member asked:

Dr. John Valenteanswered
35 years experience
Probably not: Pancreatic cancer often occurs in our late 50's and older. If the head of the pancreas is involved, the liver can be blocked and jaundice occurs. Ot... Read More
5.1k viewsAnswered >2 years ago
A 26-year-old male asked:

Dr. John Valenteanswered
35 years experience
Injury, etc: Most younger men with groin pain have an injury, usually to the same structures that hurt when a hernia forms. Sporting activity can cause such pains... Read More
5.1k viewsReviewed >2 years ago
A 19-year-old male asked:

Dr. John Valenteanswered
35 years experience
Yes: Rectal fissure and fistula are two different problems. Both may result in bleeding or spotting but fissures are usually more painful and fistulas ha... Read More
5.1k viewsReviewed >2 years ago
A 22-year-old male asked:

Dr. John Valenteanswered
35 years experience
Yes, usually: "internal piles" come in grades 1 to 4. One and two are minor, grade 3 needs to be pushed back in and 4 stays out all the time. If you have grade 3 ... Read More
5k viewsReviewed >2 years ago
A 29-year-old female asked:

Dr. John Valenteanswered
35 years experience
Doubt its cancer: Floating stool without much color usually indicates poor absorption of fat from your diet. A poorly functioning gallbladder, pancreas or small intest... Read More
5k viewsReviewed >2 years ago
A 34-year-old member asked:

Dr. John Valenteanswered
35 years experience
Yes: Atherosclerosis, plaque, or the old fashioned term "hardening of the arteries" causes the arterial damage and blockage responsible for most strokes, a... Read More
5k viewsReviewed >2 years ago
A 41-year-old member asked:

Dr. John Valenteanswered
35 years experience
Depends: Gas pains hurt throughout the abdomen and can be very severe, usually made worse with conditions that increase bowel gas such as drinking soda, or eve... Read More
5k viewsReviewed >2 years ago
A 22-year-old female asked:

Dr. John Valenteanswered
35 years experience
Avoid constipation: Mast people with this problem have irregular, harder than normal bowel movements. Use a daily fiber supplement and drink plenty of water to regulate ... Read More
5.2k viewsReviewed >2 years ago
A 33-year-old member asked:

Dr. John Valenteanswered
35 years experience
Depends : Cancer that starts in the liver is usually due to liver injury from viral infection (hepatitis), cirrhosis, toxins. Liver cancer is hard to catch ear... Read More
5.2k viewsAnswered >2 years ago
A 55-year-old female asked:

Dr. John Valenteanswered
35 years experience
See your surgeon: Depending on how long ago your surgery was done, persistent pain can be normal (in the first couple weeks) or unexpected. Adhesions (think scars stic... Read More
5k viewsReviewed >2 years ago
A 28-year-old female asked:

Dr. John Valenteanswered
35 years experience
Yes, usually: The best time for surgery is in the middle trimester. Not so early as to affect the baby's development but early enough that the uterus doesn't get i... Read More
5.1k viewsAnswered >2 years ago
A 30-year-old male asked:

Dr. John Valenteanswered
35 years experience
See your coordinator: The wound or incision is probably not well healed yet and you might have disrupted some of the layers. Prior infection and the immunosuppresive drugs... Read More
5.1k viewsReviewed >2 years ago
A 19-year-old female asked:

Dr. John Valenteanswered
35 years experience
No: Some skin lesions on the breast can be cancer, but these usually happen to older patients and they have nothing to "pop". This is probably a small sk... Read More
5.1k viewsReviewed >2 years ago
A 26-year-old female asked:

Dr. John Valenteanswered
35 years experience
See your surgeon: A quick exam and history by your general surgeon will probably be able to confirm that the gallstones are causing your symptoms (or not). If so, then... Read More
5k viewsReviewed >2 years ago
A 25-year-old female asked:

Dr. John Valenteanswered
35 years experience
Very possibly: Many such pelvic problems including pain, adhesions and fluid collections or cysts associated with endometriosis can relapse, either from adhesions (t... Read More
5.2k viewsAnswered >2 years ago
90,000 U.S. doctors in 147 specialties are here to answer your questions, provide medical advice, write prescriptions, and more.
TestimonialsRecommendations and Thank you notes are endorsements given from patients or other doctors.
Recommendations and Thank you notes are endorsements given from patients or other doctors.
2
Recommendations
81
Thank you notes
HealthTap member
Mar 30, 2015
Dr. Valente is an amazing doctor! #nationaldoctorsday2015 #virtualflower1
HealthTap member
Mar 31, 2015
Dr. Valente is an amazing doctor! #nationaldoctorsday2015 #virtualflower1
HealthTap member
Thank you, what a wonderful app! I hope Canada gets this app. I have been to the doc many times he says to wait 6 months.
HealthTap member
Thank you, your answer was very helpful! This wasn't MY question, but close enough! Mine was similar, w-out the
HealthTap member
Thank you, your answer was very helpful! They have me in the hosp. Been thru 4 bags of antibiotics noones talki
Education & Training
Medical/Graduate school
UC San Francisco School of Medicine, CA
Graduated 1987MD
Residency
UNIVERSITY OF ARIZONA MEDICAL CTR-UNIVERSITY, THE
Awards
Top General Surgeon , First Place, Alabama - Summer
2013
HealthTap Founding Doctor
90,000 U.S. doctors in 147 specialties are here to answer your questions, provide medical advice, write prescriptions, and more.
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