Five Tips to Prevent DVT on Your Summer Road Trip
After several months cooped up due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and out of current fears of flying, many people are looking to hit the open road and travel by car for their summer vacation. “While traveling in your own personal car may help you avoid the virus en route to your destination, it is not without its own hazards,” says CTVS’ board-certified vascular surgeon Dr. David Nation. “Sitting in a car, or anywhere, for long periods of time can promote poor venous circulation, especially in the legs, and lead to a serious condition known as DVT, or Deep Vein Thrombosis.” [...]
Patient Story: Back on Track to Travel the World With a Little Help from Dr. Fortes
Kay Garcia McAnally and her husband, Conor, have been married 30 years. They're avid travelers and go to Europe twice a year where they have a second home in Ireland. So when Kay was sidelined due to her serious condition -- an elevated diaphragm -- they were both devastated. An elevated diaphragm occurs when one half of the diaphragm is paralyzed. The diaphragm is the most important muscle during inspiration. When it contracts the abdominal contents are forced downward and forward increasing the size of the chest cavity and allowing more air into the lungs. When paralyzed, however, the diaphragm [...]
Newer, less invasive procedure can help prevent a stroke
Stroke is the fifth leading cause of death in the United States according to the American Stroke Association. Most strokes are caused by a buildup of plaque that cause blockages in the brain, and how quickly you receive treatment plays a large part in your ability to recover. CTVS board certified vascular surgeon Dr. Mazin Foteh was recently featured in a story on KXAN about a newer, less invasive procedure that can prevent a stroke from happening in patients that have a known blockage. TransCarotid Artery Revascularization, or TCAR, allows surgeons to access the carotid artery through a small incision just [...]
Cancer Surgery In the Time of COVID-19
When COVID-19 arrived in Austin and our lives were shuttered in mid-March, it was not just work, school and socializing that were put on hold. Important surgeries and many medical procedures that did not meet a very specific criteria were also postponed. Imagine being a patient needing life-saving surgery for cancer and the stress and anxiety of being told to ‘wait it out’ before you could have a growing tumor removed? This describes the roller coaster of emotions many of our cancer patients at CTVS in Austin had to endure over the past several weeks as government and medical organizations [...]
Can you spot the signs of a stroke?
In the United States, someone suffers from a stroke every 40 seconds while someone dies every four minutes (according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention- CDC). This makes stroke one of the leading causes of long-term disability in our country. Yet in a survey (conducted by the CDC), only 38% of people polled were unaware of major stroke symptoms beyond the most common one of numbness on one side of the body. May is American Stroke Month, so we want to ensure that everyone recognizes the symptoms of a stroke and knows what to do in the event [...]
April Aims to Educate About Esophageal Cancer
April shines a light on a lesser known cancer that is not often in the headlines, esophageal cancer. Cardiothoracic and Vascular Surgeons (CTVS) in Austin marks Esophageal Cancer Awareness Month as we aim to educate about this very rare but very serious condition. In 2019, nearly 18,000 people in the United States were diagnosed with esophageal cancer (National Cancer Institute). Sadly, for more than 16,000 of those patients, the disease proved fatal. It is also routinely listed as one of the top ten most dangerous forms of cancer. “Esophageal cancer can be a hard one to detect with relatively mild [...]
Donate Life Month: Why Transplant Patients Have a Leg Up on Social Distancing
Social distancing is a new concept for many of us right now during our citywide shelter-in-place due to the Coronavirus (COVID-19). But for those who are organ transplant patients, social distancing and self-isolation is all too familiar. April is Donate Life Month, and we at Cardiothoracic and Vascular Surgeons (CTVS) in Austin hold a special place in our hearts for and honor all the grateful transplant patients and their selfless organ donors with whom they are forever linked. According to Donate Life America, another person is added to the waiting list for an organ transplant every 10 minutes in the [...]
Dr. Hunter Kirkland on KEYE-TV: Transplant Patients and Social Distancing
Cardiothoracic and Vascular Surgeons’ Dr. Hunter Kirkland was recently featured in a story on KEYE-TV alongside his heart transplant patient Lemeul Bradshaw. Dr. Kirkland is one of our board-certified cardiothoracic surgeons specializing in heart transplantation. Transplant patients are unique in that they live most days of their life -- current Covid-19 crisis or not -- socially distancing themselves to keep safe and healthy. These patients are under an increased risk now because they have a severely compromised immune system and must take extreme caution while their bodies are already working extra hard to accept their new organ. "They're extremely vulnerable [...]
What is the VasQ device and how can it help with my dialysis?
Patients who are currently undergoing dialysis treatment for kidney failure, or renal disorders, may be interested to know about a new technology that could greatly improve their dialysis access. Cardiothoracic and Vascular Surgeons (CTVS) in Austin is currently participating in a clinical trial for the VasQ device (from Laminate Medical Technologies). Dialysis treatment helps patients that have kidney disease with the process of removing excess water and toxins from the blood when their body can no longer do so naturally. The VasQ is an investigational device not yet approved by the FDA, but has received breakthrough device designation, which provides physicians [...]
Minimally Invasive Lung Cancer Surgery Now Available in Hays County
Lung cancer is the second most common cancer for both men and women and one of the most lethal. While lung cancer cases are declining as a result of decreasing tobacco smoking rates, the American Cancer Association expects in 2020 to see 200,000 new cases to be diagnosed and 135,000 deaths due to lung cancer nationwide. Minimally invasive surgery can remove cancerous lung tumors and lead to less pain, shorter hospital stays and quicker recovery — and is now being offered to those living between Austin and San Antonio by Cardiothoracic and Vascular Surgeons (CTVS) at Ascension Seton Hays medical [...]