July 02, 2012
Kingwood Medical Center Celebrates 500th Open Heart Surgery
Providing the Same Expertise and Technology Found in Larger Medical Centers
Kingwood Medical Center (KMC) celebrates its 500th heart surgery --a triple bypass that saved the life of 79-year-old, Harris County resident, Trinidad P. Avalos.
On Sunday afternoon, Trinidad Avalos was watching television at home when he started exhibiting sudden chest pain. When his pain became increasingly worse, his daughter brought him to the emergency room at Kingwood Medical Center.
Dr. Rick Ganim, an interventional cardiologist, was on call the day that Mr. Avalos arrived in the Emergency Department. He was taken to the cath lab where Dr. Ganim was ready to intervene. Tests used to visualize the vessels revealed he had 90% blockage in his coronary arteries. After consulting with Dr. Ganim, and cardiothoracic and vascular surgeon Dr. Stephen Maniscalco, a triple bypass heart surgery was performed that saved Mr. Avalos’ heart and extended his life.
Mr. Avalos said, "I am very thankful for all the incredible doctors and nurses taking care of me." He added, "I feel like I won the lottery with all the attention I have been receiving after this surgery!"
The Open Heart Program at KMC opened in November of 2007 with the help of Dr. Maniscalco, a former faculty member at Baylor College of Medicine. Today Dr. Maniscalco and cardiothoracic and vascular surgeon Dr. John Davis, a former faculty member at the Texas Heart Institute, perform, on average, 150 open heart surgeries each year at Kingwood Medical Center.
"Kingwood Medical Center has continued to grow over the past four years to become a full-scale tertiary cardiovascular heart care center. The scope of KMC’s procedures rivals the major hospitals downtown. We continue to grow and expand to meet our community’s needs," Dr. Maniscalco said.
"Our team of cardiologists has performed over 11,000 coronary and peripheral interventional procedures, treated over 500 STEMI (heart attack) patients, and provided cardiac rehab to over 900 patients," said Melinda Stephenson, CEO of Kingwood Medical Center. "The numbers are impressive, but it is the care provided by our cardiac intensive care unit nurses that work closely with the cardiologist and CV surgeons caring for the patients that makes our program so exceptional."
"Kingwood Medical Center is the only hospital in the area with a comprehensive cardiac program, providing a full circle of care provided for heart patients including cardiac rehab and mended hearts program," said Levinda Soliz, RN, MBA, CCRN Cardiovascular Service Line Director. "After heart surgery, a person’s body needs to recover and rebuild strength, so the Cardiac Rehabilitation Program at Kingwood Medical Center provides highly qualified medical supervision to oversee patient recovery."
"Our Cardiac Rehabilitation Program is designed to educate patients and help them understand the correct way to exercise, cope with their disease, return to a full and productive life and recover faster," said Cardiac Rehabilitation Coordinator, Ginger Burklow. "Our Mended Hearts Program allows trained volunteers to spend one-on-one time with inpatients, answering questions and offering encouragement as patients work toward recovery. The program also offers group meetings where patients can receive much needed support after experiencing the emotional impact of heart disease and surgery."
For more information about Kingwood Medical Center and the services offered, please call us at 281-348-8000 or visit us online at KingwoodMedical.com.
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