Heart surgery saves more than 500 lives in northern Utah – Deseret News

Larry McClurg knows he won’t be standing at a birthday party six weeks after heart surgery 30 years ago.

If doctors had then discovered that he had a damaged heart valve, they would have rushed him into open-heart surgery—if they had done anything at all. The recovery time from open heart surgery, which would have taken one to two months, would have kept him at home, away from his love of gardening, volunteering and telling compelling stories.

Well, it wasn’t 30 years ago — “thank God,” according to McClurg — and he didn’t have open-heart surgery on Oct. 8 when he was discovered to have a damaged heart valve. Instead, he had heart surgery—a transcatheter aortic valve replacement—that gave him a new life, and therefore saved it altogether.

“This is a miracle. This is a miracle to me,” McClurg said. “I call it a miracle because I think the steps taken by the people who came up with this were inspired. And I feel happy.

“When they told me there was something wrong with my heart and I would have to go to Mackay Dee Hospital because they had a heart service there. We went, waited a couple of days and did TAVR. 8. On October 9 I was resting at home. I’m very lucky.”

Damaged heart valves are not a rare problem.

About 12 million Americans suffer from heart valve disease, where the valves do not open and/or close properly and the heart has to work harder, causing potentially fatal problems with blood flow. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 75% of American adults know little to nothing about heart valve problems or how to treat them.

Transcatheter aortic valve replacement is a minimally invasive way to repair a damaged valve or valves. Before 2016, any Utah resident needing the procedure had to travel to Salt Lake City, which was often an additional burden for those outside the Salt Lake City metro area.

Nine years ago, attempts were made to perform this procedure at McKay Dee Hospital. This will allow residents of northern Utah to receive the same treatment as 30 miles to the south.

Dr. Eric Lindley is a leading cardiac surgeon performing heart surgery in McKay Dee. Since 2016, he has performed more than 500 transcatheter aortic valve replacements. McClurg was the 501st patient to receive this procedure at Ogden Hospital, and as a Utah resident who grew up in north Ogden, he is excited to provide such a vital service to his home. community.

“It means a lot to me as a member of the local community to be able to do this,” Lindley said. “When we brought TAVR here, we found that there were a lot of patients who were simply not being treated. So now you trust us… and we take this responsibility seriously. The fact that we can bring this earth – the hacking procedure right here is critical.”

Ogden resident Christy Gagne, 58, had a transcatheter aortic valve replacement nearly 14 months ago in Mackay Dee. When she noticed she was having trouble breathing and couldn’t keep up with her grandchildren, a visit to the doctor led to the discovery of a problem with her heart valve. She was offered open heart surgery or transcatheter aortic valve replacement, and after speaking with Lindley, she chose the TAVR route.

She was amazed at how quickly she felt better. She could breathe better than she had in years immediately after the procedure, and she had more energy. Gagne thanks Lindley for saving her life. She is so grateful that she decided to work for him as a patient service representative.

“When I left the hospital, I jokingly told them, ‘If you guys ever get anything open, call me,'” Gagne said. “Now I’m working with his team. Work in the place that saved my life? I feel very, very happy and grateful. This is such an incredible procedure. So yeah, I’m very, very grateful.”