Breaking new ground at St. Mary with minimally invasive carotid artery procedure

Last spring, Scott Gemberling was all ready to have hip replacement surgery. When he went for his pre-operative consultation, his orthopedic specialist noted that Gemberling hadn’t had his carotid artery checked for six years, and at that time, it was about 50 percent blocked. “He told me, ‘You have to get that checked before you can have hip surgery’,” Gemberling recalls.

So Gemberling scheduled an appointment with Maxim Gluhovsky, MD, a surgeon with Cardiothoracic and Vascular Surgery Langhorne, located at St. Mary Medical Center. Subsequent imaging results showed a severe blockage in one of his carotid arteries. Dr. Gluhovsky offered him the option of a new, less-invasive method called transcarotid artery revascularization—or TCAR.

“I told Mr. Gemberling that this was a relatively new procedure that had never been done before at St. Mary,” Dr. Gluhovsky says. “I reviewed the advantages and disadvantages of the procedure with him.

“For the right patient, TCAR is a great option with fewer risks. It’s a great alternative to open surgery and stenting from the groin, which is the least-favored approach for most patients,” he continues. “With TCAR, there is less risk of injury to the nerves that supply your face muscles, tongue, and other head and neck anatomy. The risk of stroke and heart attack is lower. And it’s a safer option for people who have had radiation or other neck surgery in the past. People tend to tolerate the procedure very well. Aesthetically, it’s nicer because the incision sits lower on the neck, right over the collar bone, and blends in with the natural folds of the body. It was clear that there were more advantages than disadvantages for a patient like Mr. Gemberling.”

“Dr. Gluhovsky explained everything to me in detail,” Gemberling says. “He showed me the CT scan and explained exactly why he wanted to use this new procedure. He made me feel very comfortable. Even though I was the first patient to have the TCAR procedure at St. Mary, I was not the least bit worried.”

The procedure went very smoothly and Gemberling was able to go home the next day.

“When I saw him in the office a month later, the wound had healed nicely and was barely noticeable,” Dr. Gluhovsky says. “At that point, he was able to move forward with his hip replacement surgery.”

Gemberling recalled that his brother had the open surgical procedure for his own blocked carotid artery. “His whole neck was black and blue, and he has a really long scar,” he recalls. “In contrast, only a quarter of my neck was black and blue, and you can’t even see my scar because it’s in one of the creases in my neck. Dr. Gluhovsky did a great job.”

“I also really appreciated the fact that Dr. Gluhovsky was always on time for my appointments with him,” Gemberling adds. “When I had an appointment at 2 p.m., I went right back to his office and within five minutes he was talking with me. When I was in the hospital, if he said ‘I’ll be in to see you tomorrow morning at a certain time,’ he was there. He came to see me dressed in scrubs before he went to the OR because he knew I was anxious to go home. Plus, I’m the type of guy who asks a million questions and he always answered all my questions with patience. He’s a really great guy and physician.”

Learn more about the TCAR procedure.