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Man in his 70s diagnosed with rare heart defect usually found in infancy: "Lucky to have lived this long"
CBS News • • health
Key Points:
- Carlos Perez, a 72-year-old mechanic, was diagnosed with a rare congenital heart defect called cor triatriatum after experiencing atrial fibrillation, a condition causing irregular heartbeats that can lead to stroke or heart failure.
- Cor triatriatum, where a membrane divides one of the heart's atria into two chambers, is extremely rare and typically diagnosed and treated in infancy; Perez's survival into his 70s without prior symptoms was highly unusual.
- After medication failed to control his symptoms, Perez underwent a pioneering robotic surgery performed by Drs. Nguyen, Hashimoto, and Kalfa, who successfully removed the membrane with minimal invasiveness, leading to a quick recovery.
- The surgical team leveraged pediatric cardiac surgery expertise to innovate a less invasive robotic procedure for an adult patient, marking a significant advancement in treating rare heart defects.
- This collaboration has continued, resulting in Florida's first robotic cardiac surgery for a congenital defect in a teenager and the establishment of one of the only pediatric robotic cardiac programs in the U.S., benefiting both adult and pediatric patients.
