Pocono News Section

Surgery to Prevent a Stroke

Surgery to Prevent a Stroke - Wednesday, February 11, 2009 at 7:02PM EST

Reported by: Jeremy Deebel
Wednesday, Feb 11, 2009 @ 07:02pm EST
Danville, Montour County-

A man from Mifflin County says he has a new lease on life. And it’s all because of a procedure he underwent Tuesday at Geisinger Medical Center- one that he says he never could have afforded on his own.

On Wednesday, Thomas Garver was smiling.

But back in July, he was suffering from multiple strokes due to a narrowing of the artery that carries blood to his brain. Garver says he could actually hear the blood pushing against his head.

After months of frustration, Geisinger doctors wanted to try a new minimally-invasive surgical procedure.

Endovascular surgeon Dr. David Carrington said, “He is certainly a patient that would benefit greatly from this and so it was very important that we get this done.”

But Garver’s insurance company refused to cover the preventative measure, saying it hasn’t been sufficiently tested.

Garver recalled, “I had all kinds of names for the people that made the decisions. They more or less signed my death warrant, I thought.”

After months of appeals, Geisinger officials decided they would cover the costs. Doctors used a balloon to widen Garver’s artery, then inserted a metal stent to keep it open.

Garver noted, “I don’t hear the noise in my head anymore. I have energy. I don’t feel like sleeping all the time. I really feel good.”

Doctors say many new minimally-invasive surgeries are changing things for the better.

Dr. Carrington explained, “They have less chance for having a problem, or what we call morbidity and/or death. And they have shorter times, shorter stays in the hospital.”

And Thomas Garver says he has a new lease on life.

Garver added, “I would like to thank them so very much for saving my life. I think that’s what they did. They saved my life.”

Garver says Geisinger doctors have now saved his life twice. He had a tumor removed from his brain here back in 1988.

Strokes are the 3rd leading cause of death in the United States, costing health care agencies $50 billion annually.

Doctors hope to convince insurance companies to cover more of these preventative procedures.