By Melissa Murphy
Posted: 10/05/2009
Dr. Gurinder Dhillon an interventional cardiologist at NorthBay Medical Center prepares for a cardiac procedure in the hospital's state-of-the-art cardiac catheterization lab on Tuesday, September 29, 2009 in Fairfield, California. (Joel Rosenbaum/jrosenbaum@thereporter.com)
Recovering at her home in Vacaville, Betty Smith recently underwent a new heart procedure, the first of its kind in Solano County.
Alleviating an 80-percent block in her coronary artery found in the back of her heart, years have been added to Smith's life, according to the medical team at NorthBay Medical Center that successfully opened the blockage.
The Percutaneous Coronary Intervention (PCI) was first available in August and the medical team has already seen 20 scheduled cases. It could see some 800 cases each year.
Dr. Gurinder Dhillon, medical director of interventional cardiology, was able to repair Smith's artery.
"She should feel an instant change," Dhillon said. "It's a 95 percent chance that that part of her heart will be fixed forever."
Smith, 77, a retired cardiac nurse of 40 years who has a history of heart issues, had a stent put in place in 1998 in a different state and in a different part of her heart.
"They gave me a DVD of the procedure," she said of the surgery she had on Tuesday. "It's quite different than they used to do it many years ago."
Patients undergoing the PCI procedure generally doze off into a light sleep. The moderate sedation helps the patients have a relatively low anxiety level, but awake enough to talk to the doctors if needed, explained registered nurse Jolene Scherner during Smith's surgery.
What prompted the diagnostic part of the surgery was Smith's abnormal stress test results.
Dhillon reached Smith's heart through an artery in her left groin. Through that vein he was able to slide a catheter filled with dye to see the blood flow in her heart. An X-ray showed the part of Smith's heart that was blocked.
Instead of patching her up and sending Smith on her way to a different hospital to take care of the blockage, Dhillon was able to place a stent in the artery right there.
The stent, an expandable steel mesh tube no longer than the end of a pinkie finger, was deployed
by a small plastic balloon. Sticking to the wall of the artery, the plaque was pushed out of the way by the stent and blood was able to flow through smoothly.
Only spending one night in the hospital, Smith was able to return home the next day.
Dhillon said the PCI technology is always changing for the betterment of the patients.
"It's very innovative," he said. "It's a renaissance time for us."
Before, a patient in Solano County would only be able to go to the hospital for diagnostic care in regard to the heart and then have to travel to a different hospital for anything that needed to be fixed.
However, with NorthBay's new cardiovascular surgery program along with PCI, patients can stay close to home.
"This is great for Solano County," Smith said. "They're able to fix a lot of problems and eliminate a lot of traveling. It's great to have amazing doctors right here."
Dhillon agreed.
"It used to be a double procedure," he said. "They would have to do the diagnostic test and then start the whole process again at a different location. Time-wise, this is cost effective."
Terri Bartoli, clinical coordinator for the department of Heart and Vascular Interventional Services/Cardiac Cath Lab, is pleased with the new program.
"With advanced technology, experienced cardiologists and highly-trained staff, NorthBay is profoundly changing the way heart-attack patients are treated here in Solano County," she said in a press release. "Furthermore, we'll save more lives and reduce the long-term effects of heart disease in our communities, keeping advanced medicine with compassionate care close to home."
NorthBay isn't stopping there. They also just opened a nationally accredited Chest Pain Center and are looking at opening a stroke center and an emergency coronary angioplasty center for people who are having heart attacks.
"Things are really dynamic here," said Diana Sullivan, director of Cardiovascular Service Line for NorthBay. "There is a need in Solano County."
In April, NorthBay debuted its $4.6 million surgical suit and began scheduling open-heart procedures. The PCIs are now performed in the center's $3.6 million Cardiac Catheterization Lab.
Dhillon and Dr. Cyrus Mancherje have completed all of the requirements to perform interventional procedures at NorthBay Medical Center and five others are in the process of completing the requirements.
