John Larson, U.S. Representative, Has Aortic Valve Replacement Surgery
I just learned that John Larson, the fourth highest ranking democrat in the House of Representatives, underwent elective heart valve replacement surgery yesterday. Larson, 61, had known about his valvular disorder for at least two years when he was diagnosed during a routine physical.
John Larson was resting comfortably after a successful aortic valve replacement procedure and is expected to make a full recovery, said Barry Feldman, a personal spokesman for the congressman. Larson suffered from a congenital defect to an aortic valve which caused aortic stenosis, the narrowing of that valve.
Representative John Larson (Connecticut)
Without surgery, the valve would eventually have become clogged, stopping the flow of blood, Feldman said. Given these statements it seems that Larson’s diagnosis may have progressed from moderate to severe aortic stenosis quickly.
“The congressman was in perfect health,” Dr. Diver said. “In the modern era, we take this step prior to it causing any problems with the heart muscle or cardiac function, as we did here.” The surgery was performed by Dr. William Martinez, a cardiac surgeon, in just under 2 1/2 hours, Diver said.
Larson decided to have the surgery about a month ago, but decided to keep the news from the media before surgery to preserve his privacy, Feldman said. Larson is expected to be released from the hospital in four or five days and plans to be back on the job in September when Congress reconvenes.
Feldman said Larson was confident having the surgery at Saint Francis Hospital and Medical Center, despite recent problems with the hospital’s cardiac program. The hospital voluntarily suspended elective heart procedures for a week last month while the state Department of Public Health investigated the maintenance records of heart-and-lung machines in the operating room. Saint Francis performs about 1,000 open heart surgeries a year, including about 300 valve replacements, said Diver, who is the hospital’s chief of cardiology.
Keep on tickin’ Representative Larson!
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About The Author: Adam Pick is a double, heart valve surgery patient and author of The Patient’s Guide To Heart Valve Surgery. This unique book integrates the clinical facts of heart valve surgery with the personal experiences of 78 former valve surgery patients to help patients and caregivers better understand the problems, the opportunities and the realities of heart valve surgery. To learn more about Adam and his heart valve surgery book, click here.
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August 5th, 2009 at 1:27 pm
I sincerely hope Representative Larson’s recovery is a good one and that he realizes this surgery may not be available to other people under the proposed health care reform due to less choice and “advanced” age. Although Mr. Larson and his fellow congressmen and women are exempt from the plan they want to force on us, I seriously hope he realizes that our lives are as valuable as his and his familiy. God bless him and all of us as we pray that our legislators take the time to do the right thing for the American citizens of this country.
August 5th, 2009 at 1:47 pm
We hope for a speedy recovery for the Congressman, but also think about the currently proposed health care reform legislation. It would appear this type of surgery would not be available to the average citizen if our leaders continue to support the Obama healthcare plan. Elective surgeries such as this would most likely go the way that Canada has, where he may or may not have been eligible for valve replacement. I hope he does the right thing and defeats the proposed healthcare plan and allows others in this country to live longer more productive lives in the future, as we hope he does.
August 7th, 2009 at 1:37 pm
Under the Obama health plan there would be millions of more people that would have this surgery available to them.