YORK, Pa. — Cutting fresh flowers from her garden is something Carolyn Tanner doesn't take for granted.
The active 74-year-old has atrial fibrillation, an irregular heartbeat that can cause blood clots to form on the heart, putting her at a higher risk for stroke. To fix the problem, she saw the doctors at WellSpan Health for a minimally invasive procedure.
"I went in in March; I had plans to leave town. I only stayed one night in the hospital and was gone the next day on a trip six hours away," Tanner recalled.
Doctors implanted a "watchman." It's a tiny umbrella-shaped device that blocks the area of the heart where clots tend to form. In about 90 days, tissue grows over the device, creating a perfectly sealed barrier.
During the pandemic, Doctor Brian Schuler and his team at WellSpan York Hospital discovered a way to combine the use of the device with intraprocedural computed tomography (CT) to ensure they've implanted the device in the best position, giving patients the best outcomes.
"It permits us to do things that cannot be done in any environment--it allows us to make assessments that are exact and perfect," said Dr. Schuler.
In fact, WellSpan became the first in the country to offer the combination treatment, and it is still the only hospital where you'll find it.
"So this is the only place in the country and actually in the world that's doing it, and it truly is the gold standard... the new gold standard," Dr. Schuler said.
Tanner was the 1,000th patient to receive the device at WellSpan and says she couldn't be more grateful--grateful for more time to live her life to the fullest.
"I went from being too exhausted to do anything... to now volunteering at church," she said.
For more information on WellSpan Health, click here.