John D. Puskas, MD, with patient Thomas Marshall at Mount Sinai Morningside.
Thomas Marshall, 65, was planning to have coronary artery bypass surgery at Mount Sinai Morningside in early April due to signs of worsening coronary artery disease. But those plans were derailed when the COVID-19 pandemic forced New York hospitals to close down non-emergency services for anything but treatment for the virus.
Those restrictions have now been eased, and Mr. Marshall was first in line for cardiac surgery at Mount Sinai Morningside, receiving a minimally invasive robotic coronary bypass on Monday, May 18. “Mount Sinai has resumed providing cardiac surgical services to patients who have urgent cardiac surgical problems,” says John D. Puskas, MD, Chair of Cardiovascular Surgery at Mount Sinai Morningside, Mount Sinai Downtown, and Mount Sinai West. “No longer is it necessary to have an emergency situation to have coronary surgery or valvular surgery or aortic surgery.”
In early May, when Mr. Marshall got the call from Dr. Puskas’s office that they were ready to proceed, he was eager to get started, although apprehensive about what conditions at the hospital might be like.
Dr. Puskas reassured him: “We have sterilized the operating rooms and the intensive care units and put in place protocols to protect you from any possible infection with the coronavirus. You will also be repeatedly screened to protect you, your care providers, and other patients. We are being very thorough as we safely resume non-emergency cardiac surgery.”
Mr. Marshall had undergone multiple previous stent procedures to treat persistent blockages in his left anterior descending coronary artery, the most important artery in the heart. Despite these efforts, blockage recurred within the stents in his coronary artery. In the weeks before his surgery, he experienced pains in his chest, arms, shoulder, neck, and jaw. Though he has run several half-marathons in the recent past, everyday activities had become harder: climbing stairs, loading the dishwasher, taking a shower. He had telehealth visits with Dr. Puskas and others in his care team at Mount Sinai Morningside, but he was feeling increasingly anxious, not knowing when he would be able to have the procedure and resume his active life.
Dr. Puskas performed a minimally invasive robotic coronary bypass operation for Mr. Marshall, making three 1-cm micro-incisions under his left armpit and one 3-cm incision beside his breast bone. No ribs or bones were divided. Mr. Marshall was off the ventilator and walking in the intensive care unit later that afternoon.
Mr. Marshall was released from Mount Sinai Morningside three days after his bypass. His angina, which had occurred several times daily, was gone. He was impressed by the safety procedures at Mount Sinai, including his screening for COVID-19 and for antibodies to the virus that causes it. “Everybody had their protective gear on: visors, gloves, gowns,” he says, “I felt very comfortable knowing they weren’t taking this lightly. I was relieved knowing they took all the precautions.”
And just a few days after the surgery, Mr. Marshall says, “I feel great, and am so happy I got this done.”