Vol. 9, No. 2
August, 1999
Winthrop Opens Filmless Diagnostic Imaging Center
Winthrop Complies with Mammogram Quality Standards Act
New Device Revolutionizes Treatment of Cardiac Arrhythmias
Long Island's First Electric Mechanical Heart Recipient
Women's Resource Center Helps Women Navigate the Healthcare Maze
American Cancer Society Recognition
New Logo Heralds New Era at Winthrop
People with Diabetes Learn to Master Buffets
Four New Winthrop Board Members Strengthen Leadership
Winthrop's Junior Volunteer Program Awards Scholarships to Deserving Students
Students Stock the Shelves of the Child Life Program
Pharmacy Robot: A First on Long Island
A Warning from the Long Island Poison Control Center at Winthrop
Asthma and Allergy Family Fair Presented by the Winthrop Asthma Center
More than 500 Celebrate Life at Winthrop's Cancer Survivors' Day
75th Annual Meeting of Winthrop's Auxiliary
Golfers Show They're "Fore" Winthrop at 1999 Golf Tournament
For Long Island Children who don't have Health Insurance
Copyright
Back to Publications
|
There were many emotional "goodbyes" as patient Kenneth Frame walked out of Winthrop, headed for cardiac rehabilitation in preparation for a heart transplant. Here, Jen McLaughlin, RN, BSN, CCRN, critical care nurse in the Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery Department, hugs Mr. Frame as he is discharged.
|
 enneth Frame, a 60- year- old retired United Parcel Service employee from West Babylon, left Winthrop on May 6, l999 with Long Island's first electric heart assist device. He was headed to Columbia- Presbyterian Medical Center for inpatient cardiac rehabilitation and is now at home, awaiting a heart transplant.
Winthrop is the only Long Island hospital and one of only seven non-heart transplant centers in the country performing this lifesaving implantation procedure, with a device known as a Left-Ventricular Assistive Device, or LVAD. It sits within the abdominal cavity and is surgically connected between the natural heart and the aorta, assuming the function of the left ventricle, the heart's most critical pumping chamber, which is responsible for sending oxygen-rich blood throughout the body.
"The LVAD provides patients with a lifesaving bridge to transplant," explains William C. Scott, MD, Winthrop's Chairman of the Department of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery. "Simply stated, without this device, a patient such as Mr. Frame might not live long enough for a heart to become available." Dr. Scott notes that each year, there are 300,000 potential candidates for heart transplants vying for only approximately 2,000 available organs.
Dr. Scott, the lead surgeon in Mr. Frame's procedure, has been a staunch advocate of bringing LVAD capability to Long Island. "We see many patients with end stage heart disease," says Dr. Scott. "While traditional surgery offers hope to the vast majority, there are some cases where a heart transplant is the only option. The LVAD provides those patients with a window of time in which to await a transplant."
|
"The LVAD provides patients with a lifesaving bridge to transplant." |
William C. Scott, MD,
Chairman of the Department
of Thoracic and
Cardiovascular Surgery
|
| According to Mr. Frame, the LVAD has him feeling better than he has in years. That is because it is capable of pumping a much larger volume of blood throughout his body than his diseased heart could. With a battery pack discreetly harnessed at each side powering his LVAD, Mr. Frame is now able to perform most normal activities.
Mr. Frame credits Winthrop's surgeons with saving his life. His doctors agree that his condition was dire. "Without this device, he would not be here today," says Dr. Scott. Both Mr. Frame and Dr. Scott are optimistic about his prognosis.
For additional information on Winthrop's Cardiac Surgery Program, call the Department of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery in the Winthrop Institute for Heart Care at 1-800-443-2788, or visit www.tcvsurg.org.
|
