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A ‘shot in the dark’ surgical
success means a bright
future for Mary Jane Phillips
As
far as Mary Jane Phillips was
concerned, breast cancer was a thing of
her past. Then, she learned that her past
breast cancer stood in the way of her
current heart health.
She needed an ICD, or implantable
cardioverter defibrillator. Typically, this
small device is implanted by the left
collarbone, and a wire is threaded through
a large vein to the heart. If the heart stops
or develops an irregular rhythm, the ICD
sends a shock to restart or reset it.
But one look at Mary Jane’s veins,
and Sumeet Chhabra, MD, cardiac
electrophysiologist at Methodist
Richardson Medical Center, knew there
was no way a standard defibrillator
would work. Chemotherapy and previous
surgery had made the veins unusable.
Mary Jane remained positive.
“I just thought, whatever the next move
is, I’m going to take it,” she says.
She never anticipated that the “next
move” would be one never taken before.
A shot in the dark
Earlier this spring, Dr. Chhabra began
considering the Emblem
TM
S-ICD System
by Boston Scientific for Mary Jane. It had
only been approved for use in the U.S. since
April 2014, and only about 5,000 had been
implanted around the world and only a
handful in Dallas at the time.
What makes this ICD unique is that
it’s implanted on the person’s left side, and
the wire is threaded under the skin, not
through a vein, to the breast bone.
“The wire has to be in the right spot,
or it won’t be able to shock the heart
out of unstable heart rhythms or cardiac
arrest,” Dr. Chhabra says, sharing his
concern about navigating the wire around
Mary Jane’s reconstructed breasts. “If we
inadvertently damage a breast implant with
the wire, that’s an emergency. For a survivor
who thinks breast cancer is behind her, it
would be psychologically traumatizing to
have to face another breast surgery.”
Dr. Chhabra proposed performing
the surgery with Jenevieve Hughes, MD,
a breast surgeon also on the Methodist
Richardson medical staff.
“This is a shot in the dark,” he told
Mary Jane. “It’s never been done. My
expertise will be getting the defibrillator
in; hers will be getting the wire around the
implant without damaging it.”
This was their only option for Mary Jane,
and it was a chance she was willing to take.
Over the next few weeks, Drs. Chhabra
and Hughes met regularly to plan
the surgery.
Surgical tag team
“It was such a team effort,” says Mary
Jane’s daughter, Teresa Garrison.
“Everything went fabulously.”
Dr. Chhabra says they were able to
place the wire with only millimeters to
spare from the implants. Then came
the moment of truth: He induced a
mini cardiac arrest to make sure the
ICD worked.
“It takes about eight seconds for
the defibrillator to kick in, and those
eight seconds felt like the longest ever,”
Dr. Chhabra says. “But when the
defibrillator lit up and got her out of
cardiac arrest beautifully, everyone in the
room erupted in cheers. This defibrillator
will probably save her life one day.”
A place you can trust
Today, Mary Jane, an avid sports fan,
worries more about the Texas Rangers’
record than about her heart health. She’s
grateful that Methodist Richardson stands
for peace of mind for herself and others.
“So many people have had health
problems like mine, and it’s a blessing to
know there’s an option for them,” she says.
“I’mgladwe trustedMethodist Richardson,
and we’d trust them again in a heartbeat.”
Methodist Richardson Medical Center
•
❁
Fall 2015
13
Guarding her
RIGHT FOR YOUR HEART
The Emblem S-ICD System is perfect for
young people and people with damaged
veins. To learn more about this new
technology and how it could save a life,
call
214-947-6296
.