Healthcare Directory

12 | 2021 Medical & Dental Directory CARDIOTHORACIC SURGERY 'Out the next day and breathing fine' After TAVR procedure, heart patient hopes to return to an active lifestyle By Kim Hasty W hen Ray Hardwick underwent surgery to remove a cancerous portion of his lung at Cape Fear Valley Medical Center in 2014, he regretted missing the chance to thank his surgeon, Dr. Robert Maughan. He had a second chance in December when Maughan was part of the team that performed a procedure on Hardwick known as TAVR, or transaortic valve replacement. "Best surgeon in town," Hardwick said. "This time, I saw him, and I said, 'Hey, thanks for both times.' " Hardwick said he's also grateful that the procedure, far less invasive than open-heart surgery, is now being performed at Cape Fear Valley, giving him the hope of returning to the active lifestyle he loves. "I've been active all my life," Hardwick, 64, said. "I don't sit around more than I have to." The medical center recently celebrated a year of successfully performing the procedure on nearly 30 patients who previously would have been faced with having to travel an hour or more to have it done. The two married in 1976 and spent most of their lives dancing, skiing and scuba diving. They eventually returned to the United States to move into a home they'd built themselves on a tract of family land. Ray Hardwick worked as operations manager for Harold Brewington at Carpet One and received his general contractor's license. "I like to feel like I'm accomplishing something," he said. But the Hardwicks' active lifestyle took a hit when a chest X-ray in 2012 revealed Ray had cancer. He began undergoing chemotherapy and radiation that, while draining him of energy, shrunk the cancer enough for Maughan to remove it. That proved to be only part of his ordeal. "From 2014 to 2018, I was trying to get my strength back," he said. "I was breathing heavily and gradually got worse. I got to where I could hardly breathe at all." TAVR is done by inserting a collapsible valve through a small incision in the groin and up into the heart. Once positioned exactly – a determination made with powerful scanning equipment – physicians inflate the valve and anchor it into place. When it starts working, they remove the flexible catheter tube used to carry the valve and close the incision. Amol Bahekar Robert Maughan Thor Klang Robert Maughan, a cardiothoracic surgeon who plays a key role on a team headed by interventional cardiologists Thor Klang and Amol Baheker, reports really great results with TAVR. "We've had really great results," said Maughan, a cardiothoracic surgeon who plays a key role on a team headed by interventional cardiologists Dr. Thor Klang and Dr. Amol Baheker. "The initial recovery is so much better." Hardwick seemed a prime candidate for the procedure. The Army had taken him to Frankfurt, Germany in 1972. He wound up leaving the Army after four years, but stayed in Germany for the next 30, including a 25-year career at DuPont. "I met her the second day I was there," he said, nodding to wife Ingrid. "We met at a disco." Tests revealed he was suffering from aortic valve stenosis, a serious disease that causes a heart valve to narrow and malfunction. People with aortic stenosis may feel faint, weak and lethargic and may struggle for breath. The disease can also lead to heart failure. But open-heart surgery, the standard method for replacing heart valves, is a major invasive operation, requiring patients to stay several days in the hospital and then weeks more of recovery. It can be highly risky for people who are elderly or otherwise frail. In Hardwick's case, radiation had weakened his organs. TAVR, on the other hand, is done by inserting a collapsible valve through a small incision in the groin and up into the heart. Once positioned exactly – a determination made with powerful scanning equipment – physicians inflate the valve and anchor it into place. When it starts working, they remove the flexible catheter tube used to carry the valve and close the incision. The procedure lasts an hour or two. "The planning done before the operation takes longer than the procedure," Maughan said. "It's not done by just one cardiologist or one surgeon. It's a real team approach." Hardwick is breathing much easier these days, though he still requires the use of a portable defibrillator and is scheduled to have one implanted sometime in the next few months. "I felt very lucky that they invented this procedure," he said. "And I'm grateful that I was lucky enough to get it." n

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