Heart Valve Replacement Following Bypass Surgery
Raymond Singer, M.D.
Cardiothoracic surgeon
THE PATIENT:
- 69-year-old male
- Calcification of aortic valve requiring valve replacement
- Had quadruple heart bypass surgery 12 years ago
- Has aortic aneurysm
- Has type 2 diabetes
THE WORK-UP:
- Cardiologist J. Patrick Kleaveland, M.D., and cardiothoracic surgeons Raymond Singer, M.D., and Gary Szydlowski, M.D. collaborated .
- The patient selected a bovine valve as the replacement valve.
THE SURGERY:
- Prior to surgery, the patient’s blood glucose levels were brought to within an acceptable range.
- During the procedure, surgeons determined the bypasses were stable and the aneurysm did not need to be surgically repaired.
THE PROGNOSIS:
- Patient was walking with the help of his nurses within 24 hours.
- Patient was discharged four days later.
- Tele-health services were used to transmit the patient’s vital signs from his home to the hospital.
- Patient completed two months of rehabilitation at Lehigh Valley Hospital–Muhlenberg.
- After four months, the patient was golfing and had limited restrictions.
THE REGIONAL HEART CENTER TEAM:
- Lehigh Valley Hospital and Health Network’s heart program is the third largest in Pennsylvania.
- It’s ranked among America’s Best Hospitals by U.S. News & World Report.
- The center’s surgeons perform more than 300 valve surgeries every year, the most in the region.
- The center’s specialists also perform thousands of surgeries, catheterizations, angioplasties and electrophysiology procedures every year.
- MI Alert for Heart Attacks program has received state recognition for consistently saving patients having a heart attack by opening their blocked arteries in less than 90 minutes.
This page last updated 5/23/08 06:57 AM
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