California Businessman Seeks Out Groundbreaking Heart Surgery in Wisconsin
You may have heard of the people association game “Six Degrees of Separation from Kevin Bacon?” The exercise demonstrates that everyone in the world can be linked to the movie actor and each other – we’re only a few relationships away from each other
John Shenk, a 66-year-old businessman from Atherton, California, was linked to Husam H. Balkhy, MD, and Wheaton Franciscan - The Wisconsin Heart Hospital, where John had a Totally Endoscopic Coronary Artery Bypass (TECAB) procedure in late March 2009.
The path to the procedure happened quickly. The distance between John’s San Francisco Bay area home and the site for his surgery compressed to only a few hours of flight time.
In November 2008, John underwent back surgery, which proved fortunate for his heart health. Within a few hours of discharge, John experienced symptoms of heart disease.
“I came home, and a few hours later, I was clutching my chest. We quickly went to the hospital. The ER doctor did tests and said it wasn’t a heart attack. He thought I was throwing blood clots. I had a little cluster in both lungs, and a filter was put in,” John recalls.
After a series of tests, John was diagnosed with a Left Anterior Descending artery (LAD) occlusion or blockage.
“What scared me was that I didn’t feel anything. No symptoms before then. The doctor said, ‘you’ve had this a long time,’” recalled John.
“He’s a walking miracle,” said Sheri, his wife of 45 years. “Looking back, we realize John was slowly losing energy and enthusiasm. He didn’t have the same zest.”
John believed his only option was to schedule coronary bypass surgery using traditional open chest techniques. He would undergo the necessary surgery on March 26 at a well-respected California hospital, with a well-respected cardiac surgeon.
This is where the Six Degrees of Separation enter the picture.
The Six Degrees
John and his wife, Sheri, live within five to seven miles of some of the most innovative cardiac surgical device companies in the world: Intuitive Surgical and Cardica, manufacturers of the Da Vinci-S Surgical System and sutureless blood vessel connection devices respectively.
Two weeks before the date scheduled for surgery, a longtime friend of the Shenks visited their home. As a physician and friend, he suggested that John look into minimally invasive, robotic-assisted bypass surgery. One of his sons, Luke, had been on the design team at Cardica and had helped to develop the device that replaces hand sutures.
Unsure of whose advice to follow, the Shenks began their own research project. They asked Luke, the young biomedical engineer, for his opinion.
“Where should we go?”
Luke’s answer was immediate. “The best doctor in the country [for this procedure] is Dr. Balkhy. If it were my dad, I’d send him to The Wisconsin Heart Hospital!”
Dr. Balkhy has been a pioneer in minimally invasive, robotic surgeries – using sutureless devices to perform arterial bypasses. He is at the forefront of using new technologies and techniques for totally endoscopic procedures and is known nationally and internationally for this groundbreaking work.
The Shenks contacted Dr. Balkhy at his office, and soon dialogue was flying across the telephone and computers. The Wisconsin-based cardiothoracic surgeon had received John’s files, and after looking them over said, “You fit the profile.”
“John had a 100% occlusion of the left anterior descending coronary artery that was being supported by small collaterals from the right system,“ said Dr. Balkhy. “These were not enough to support his heart during times of stress or activity. Given his anatomy, John was a perfect candidate for a totally endoscopic bypass procedure to connect the internal mammary artery to the blocked coronary artery using several pencil size incisions and without stopping the heart.”
“We started praying like crazy,” said Sheri. “Where are we supposed to go?”
“I would say, okay, I’m going to do this [minimally invasive surgery in Wisconsin],” said John, “and then I’d get clobbered by some knowledgeable people – people I respect. They said, ‘I’d go with the tried and true.’”
The Shenks’ family – four sons and four grandchildren - were concerned about their dad and “Pops” going to Wisconsin. Family wouldn’t be there to support John and Sheri. The procedure was “too new.” Why go so far away when quality heart care was available so close? Besides, John’s open chest heart surgery was already scheduled for March 26 in California.
“When everyone was trying to talk us out of going to Wisconsin, we responded with, ‘Dr. Balkhy’s a traditionally trained surgeon. The worse case scenario is that he may open John up and find something unexpected – something that would prevent him from doing the surgery robotically. In that case, we’d have the same as the best we would have in California,” Sheri explained.
Pioneers: Going Eastward to Heart Health
John and Sheri took the leap of faith, grounded in the conversations they had with their physicians and Dr. Balkhy and the “homework” they conducted.
They were attracted to the benefits that most patients experience: smaller incisions, quicker recovery time, less pain. And, with John having diabetes, he was looking for a procedure that would encourage a quicker healing process.
All of John’s pertinent medical records were in Wisconsin, his preadmission tests done in California. A son provided frequent flyer miles to help them get reservations on a flight to Milwaukee.
He arrived in Milwaukee on a Monday, three days before he had scheduled surgery in California. On Thursday, March 26, John was in the surgical suite with Dr. Balkhy at the console of the robotic system and the clinical team supporting the surgery. John’s totally endoscopic bypass surgery occurred on a Thursday; John was discharged on Sunday, and was on a plane back to California on Wednesday.
Within one week, John was on his way to heart health.
TWHH: A Great Experience
From his preadmission discussions to the nurses to the anesthesiologist to the housekeeping staff, John and Sheri felt that everyone they encountered was at the top of their professional game.
In addition to the care, commitment, and professionalism of The Wisconsin Heart Hospital team, the Shenks appreciated the atmosphere of healing that the facility’s unique design offers.
“It was wonderful that John went straight from the O.R. to his own room. When people have heart surgery, they’re often moved first to recovery and then to the ICU in front of the nurses’ station. It can be noisy. Here, it’s very quiet and peaceful,” said Sheri.
“The rooms are really super attractive . . . almost like being in a hotel,” John commented.
Only a few days after his surgery, John said, “It felt good waking up. There was no pain.”
With such a good experience from Dr. Balkhy and TWHH, John planned on recommending Dr. Balkhy, the minimally invasive program, and Wisconsin Heart Hospital to friends who face bypass or who suffer from atrial fibrillation. The Da Vinci robot is also used to treat arrthymia, either through surgery only or the use of hybrid procedures including cath lab equipment.
“I’m wanting, willing and able to generate interest out West for this program,” said John. “Sign me up!”
Most of John’s post-surgical exercise included lifting his shirt to show curious people the five tiny scars that are evidence of a procedure that traditionally would have left a long scar right down his chest.
There was no doubt that John and Sheri were eager to return to their home to see family and friends and show off the tiny scars that had previously been shown via electronically transmitted digital photos. Yet, it comes at a small “price.”
“The only thing about going home is that I expect to have to tell everyone how I’m doing – people calling from church, home, the club, friends… But that’s a small price to pay to feel this well again!”
TECAB Surgery Patient Benefits
Patient may experience:
- Avoidance of the drawbacks of traditional heart surgery, including
- Blood loss
- Pain
- Scarring
- Blood loss
- Significant reductions in recovery time, pain, and trauma
- Shorter hospital stays
- Less risk of infection
- Fewer transfusions
The biggest impact?
- Faster recovery, with a quicker return to normal activities
- Improved quality of life