New Aneurysm Program

[Shari]

Hi Friends,

It's been awhile since I posted. On May 25, it will be the first anniversary of my husband's emergency surgery to have his aortic dissection repaired. Sometimes it seems like it happened so long ago and other times, I can't believe it will be a year. Not a week goes by that we don't thank God for being given a second chance at life. Now to the point of my post...

We received a letter from the wonderful surgeon who saved my husband's life -- Dr. William Risher. Dr. Risher will be leaving the University of Rochester Medical Center to be the Chairman of Cardiac Surgery at St. Luke's Medical Center in Bethlehem, PA. They are going to start an aneurysm program, valve repair program and Off Pump surgery program at the hospital. Also they have the DiVinci robotic system and will be doing robotic valve repair in the near future.

I thought I would share this information with all of you in case someone is in the PA area and is looking for a caring, compassionate, wonderful surgeon. We owe so much to this man. Hope this information helps someone.

 

[Ross]

Thank You Shari

I'll certainly keep this in mind for future reference.

Out of curiousity, how long was your husband in the hospital after the emergency surgery? I was in from March 8th, 1995 to April 26th, 1995. As you know, we are both very lucky to be here at all. Hope all is well with him.

 

[Shari]

Ross,

Thank you for the good wishes. On May 22, 2001, he had fainted in his hotel room after experiencing severe pain in his throat. He came to 1-1/2 hours later and managed to pull himself to the phone in the room. The front desk called an ambulance and transported him to the nearest hospital. They were treating him for a severe case of strep. It wasn't until three days later, May 25, that a CAT scan revealed the aneurysm. He was rushed by ambulance to Strong Memorial Hospital for emergency surgery. He had a type A Aortic Dissection. This whole situation just came out of the blue. He was in the hospital until June 15th. 25 days.