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I didn't believe the pain was a serious problemAt age 35, I didn't believe the pain in my chest was a serious problem I thought it was stress. In fact, it was a leaking aortic valve and aneurysm, and it threatened my life. My Aurora doctor in Fond du Lac knew exactly what to do and quickly. "He arranged for me to meet with leading heart specialists at Aurora St. Luke's in Milwaukee where I had heart surgery. Fortunately my stay was short and I was able to have my follow-up care close to home in Fond du Lac. That's one of the advantages of being an Aurora patient they connect you with the most advanced care no matter where you live, and do everything possible to make healing easier. "Aurora made getting the care I needed a lot easier so I could focus on my recovery and getting back to the family business. I look at things differently now, I spend more time with my family and I'm really enjoying life. Dick Ottery More patient storiesTracy Nehlsen -- Robotic-assisted heart surgery She's piloted planes, owns a Harley, builds racecars and shoots target practice. In her early 50's, Tracy Nehlsen didn't want to give up her hobbies or playing with her 4 grandchildren. So she traveled from her home in northern Illinois to Aurora St. Luke's Medical Center in Milwaukee for robotic-assisted heart surgery. Two heart valves were repaired during the minimally invasive procedure performed by surgeon Daniel O'Hair, MD. The surgery utilizes a few very small incisions, tiny surgical instruments with a video camera, robotic-assisted controls and TV screen with magnified video. With a leaking mitral valve, blood essentially begins flowing the wrong way in the heart, and the heart works overtime to make up for it. I felt like a 400-pound man was sitting on my chest, Tracy says. I couldn't breathe, my face felt numb most of the time and so did my hands. I'm 4'10, I've never smoked or drank and I'm the right weight for my height. I have high cholesterol, but I've never been sick. She delayed surgery because traditional valve repair involves a large incision to open up the chest. I put it off until I couldn't hold a coffee cup. I'm not a big fan of hospitals, but for this guy Dr. O'Hair and this hospital I'd go there anytime. Tracy's husband originally read about the robotic-assisted procedure while working in Wisconsin. Along with her daughter, a master's degree candidate in genetics, Tracy researched a lot of hospitals. I think St. Luke's is one of the best in the country. They are so efficient. Staying at St. Luke's is like being at a 5-star hotel, she jokes. I'd like to vacation there sometime. If I ever move, I'll always fly there to having something done. Tracy had the procedure in August 2005. She went in Wednesday morning and went home Thursday before Noon. The results were almost immediate. I felt just as good 3 days later as I do now, 18 months after surgery. I could climb stairs and was doing housework in about a week, she says. They put 7 little holes in my side and they've completely gone away. It wasn't a big deal. If I'd known that, I would have gone in a lot earlier. It's amazing. Shirley Orlowski -- Robotic-assisted heart surgery Shirley Orlowski lives in southeast Wisconsin and had known for about 5 years that 2 mitral valves in her heart were leaking. While she was not aware of any symptoms, the risk of blood clots and stroke increased as the valves became worse. A heart catheterization showed that her arteries were in good shape, but something had to be done about the valves. And at age 70 with a history of stroke, atrial fibrillation and congestive heart failure, she was not a good risk for major surgery such as traditional valve replacement. But there was a new option minimally invasive robotic-assisted surgery performed by Daniel O'Hair, MD, at Aurora St. Luke's Medical Center in Milwaukee. The procedure utilizes a few very small incisions, tiny surgical instruments with a video camera, robotic-assisted controls and TV screen with magnified video. I hadn't heard of that before, she recalls. My doctor said St. Luke's had it and I might be eligible to have it done. The process to find out if I could have it was straightforward. And there are fewer risks. Otherwise, they have to crack open the chest and it's more of a burden on the body. Shirley had her surgery in January of '07. I was out of the hospital in a day and a half. I originally said to the doctor, You're sending me home?!' But he said, Yep, everything looks very good.' She reported 6 weeks later that recovery had gone very well. I just moved to a new apartment and there was a lot of packing and unpacking, she says. I didn't carry anything real heavy, but I think I'm in pretty good shape for having had heart surgery. And I was just in a car accident the other day. Someone hit me. But I'm fine. Right now, I'm trying to beat a friend at cards. Since surgery, she's been able to eliminate 2 medications she was taking before and continues to feel better. You know when you're not up to par and I feel I'm getting up to par pretty quickly, she says. I have one two-inch scar and a few tiny scars from the incisions. I don't know how they did it, but they did it. If you need the surgery, I recommend getting it. I'm feeling so great. I can't complain.
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