Good Sam Cardiac Surgeon Performs Rare Procedure to Fix Congenital Heart Defect

For the first 53 years of his life, TJ Burke had no reason to believe he wasn’t in perfect health. As an athletic director for the Plainedge School District, he had always been physically fit. As a two sport college athlete who played basketball until recently and was an avid golfer, he had never had an issue with his heart. So it was a shock when an episode of chest pain resulted in emergency open heart surgery at Good Samaritan University Hospital (West Islip, NY) after doctors at St. Joseph Hospital (Bethpage, NY) diagnosed a rare congenital heart defect.

TJ is one of less than one percent of adults who have lived their entire lives with an undiagnosed heart abnormality. Most never experience symptoms, and doctors believe that some of these defects may lead to sudden cardiac death.

Fortunately, TJ did experience symptoms. After a weekend playing golf, he felt some chest pain. “It felt more like gas pain. It wasn’t near my heart,” he said. But the pain began to worsen, and he began having difficulty breathing. That’s when his wife called an ambulance.

Emergency medical technicians found that TJ’s blood pressure was high, and they convinced him to go to the St. Joseph emergency department. Initial tests that showed that he was not having a heart attack, but cardiologists convinced him to remain in the hospital overnight for further testing. A CT scan in the morning revealed the abnormality.

“The cardiologist at St. Joseph, Dr. Caselnova, said ‘You don’t need a cardiologist. You need a thoracic surgeon. You need Dr. Carter,’” TJ recalled. He was referring to Timothy Carter, MD, a cardiothoracic surgeon at the St. Francis Heart Center at Good Samaritan University Hospital, who is among the most experienced in the region in the surgical repair of congenital heart defects in adults.

TJ’s heart defect proved to be extremely rare and difficult to repair. His left main artery, instead of traveling its normal route to supply blood to the left side of the heart muscle, “came off the right side of the aorta, traveled down between the pulmonary artery, through the right side of the heart, under a bridge of muscle in the septum,” explained Dr. Carter.

This path caused the artery to be pinched when the heart muscle contracted with every heartbeat. Unlike a blockage caused by a buildup of plaque, a bypass operation would not fix this defect. Instead, Dr. Carter performed an unusual procedure in which he essentially built a tunnel through TJ’s heart, re-routing the artery so it could travel unimpeded.

“There have only been a handful of documented cases like this one, mostly out of the Cleveland Clinic where this procedure was first used,” Dr. Carter explained, adding that this is the first time that it has been performed on Long Island.

TJ was fortunate to have been taken to St. Joseph, a member of Catholic Health. Thanks to the coordinated efforts of cardiologists and cardiac surgeons from across the system, which includes The St. Francis Heart Center at Good Samaritan University Hospital, he was able to be transferred within 24 hours to Good Sam under the care of Dr. Carter, who repairs 10-15 coronary abnormalities in adults each year.

Within 48 hours, TJ had undergone the innovative surgical procedure to permanently repair the abnormality.

“The ER staff at St. Joseph took TJ’s complaints seriously, the cardiology team jumped in, and when they saw no blockage, they diagnosed the congenital issue and transferred him right away so that he could have surgery within a few days. The whole system really worked well,” said Dr. Carter.

TJ is grateful for the outcome.

“It is a good thingthat I listened to the signs. Everything worked out perfectly,” he said. “Prior to this, I was not familiar with Good Sam, but the open-heart wing was state-of-the-art. Every nurse was incredible. I would not hesitate to tell people to go there.”

As he continues to recover, TJ is looking forward to returning to work and his full range of activities, and he has already hit a few golf balls.

Dr. Carter confirms that TJ’s prognosis is excellent, and he has no physical limitations. He says TJ’s case underscores the importance of having a good relationship with a primary care provider and seeking care when you think something is not right.

“Congenital coronary abnormalities are like snowflakes,” said Dr. Carter. “It is hard to draw conclusions. But we are finding more and more of these types of problems as our diagnostic technology improves.”

Learn more about Catholic Health cardiology services.

Find a Catholic Health doctor near you. Or call 866-MY-LI-DOC (866-695-4362).