My Journey Through Cardiovascular Care

My name is Scott Spencer and I am an administrative resident at Texas Health Fort Worth. I will be a guest blogger and sharing many of the neat adventures I have with you through my time here at the hospital. The first experience that I want to share with you is a day in the life of the Texas Health Heart Center.
The good folks in our cardiovascular services were very helpful in scheduling my rotations within their department. I was able to meet with the managers who were all friendly and seemed happy to answer my questions. All of staff I met were very helpful in teaching me about what they do and I enjoyed learning about the services we offer. Part of my rotation included observing an open heart procedure called a coronary artery bypass graft (CABG).

I went in early to observe the pre-op process. I was told to stand at the head of the operating table to get a good view of what all the team does. The cardiovascular surgeon, Dr. Richard Vigness, explained to me, in detail, all of the steps he and the team go through from opening the patent’s chest to stopping the heart from beating to closing the chest and sending the patient to the cardiac ICU. Before the surgery I thought I might get a little sick, but it was so fascinating I didn’t even think about it. After the procedure, Dr. Vigness invited me to spend the rest of the day with him. I came back that afternoon to observe a carotid endarterectomy, a procedure where fatty plaque is removed from the carotid artery. This procedure was a little tough to watch. I’ll admit I chickened out and had to look away a time or two. Afterwards we rounded on some of his other patients to see how they were doing and determine dates for discharge.
Towards the end of the day, we met with a patient that a cardiologist had referred to Dr. Vigness. He determined that the patient was a prime candidate for a valve replacement procedure which was subsequently scheduled for the following week. This is one of Dr. Vigness' favorite procedures and suggested I come back to see this procedure.
The following Tuesday I scrubbed in and observed the valve replacement. This was especially cool because I was able to observe the patient's jouney: I met and talked with the patient before hand, observed the procedure, and then visited with her throughout her inpatient stay.
This was an excellent rotation and I consider myself very lucky to be at Texas Health Harris Methodist Fort Worth with such great people. They were happy to teach students like me about what they do and the services we offer.