NORFOLK, Va. (WAVY) — Turkey hunting is one of Jim Gibson’s favorite things to do, but the 81-year-old Chesapeake man thought his hunting days were done
when swollen feet and fatigue due to heart problems made it impossible.
“It’s like taking away your fun things of life,” Gibson said.
In November, Gibson went into heart failure and saw Dr. Matt Summers, an interventional cardiologist at Sentara Heart Hospital in Norfolk.
“When people get to me, they have six months to a year to live, usually with their health problems, and he was no exception to that,” Summers said.
Due to his age, Gibson was not a candidate for open heart surgery. An alternative procedure, a minimally invasive fix, wouldn’t work, either, because he has a leaky valve.
Lucky for Gibson, Summers and heart surgeon Dr. Clint Kemp are taking part in an FDA trial of a new device that offered Gibson new hope.
The device, called the trilogy transcatheter heart valve, can stay in place in the patient’s heart without relying on calcium buildup, a breakthrough for high-risk patients with aortic regurgitation or a leaky valve.
“Our goal is eventually to be able to get this type of a procedure for patients of all risk categories,” Kemp said.
The device folds down and is inserted into a tiny tube that travels from the femoral artery in a patient’s leg and into their heart. It anchors to the old valve and restores proper heart function.
Sentara Norfolk General is one of 30 sites across the country currently performing this procedure.
The company is hoping the new device will get FDA approval sometime next year, at which point it would be available for patients everywhere.
Gibson was on his feet the next day, and three weeks later, he was back in a hunting blind.
“I got a turkey, so I got to cook a turkey now,” Gibson said. “I guess that’s my next step.”
He’s back to living life like nothing ever happened.
