Life saving team praised by Lewis
A HALIFAX man has spoken about his experience of undergoing life-saving heart treatment during the pandemic and praised staff at Leeds General Infirmary.
Lewis Benn has been living with heart valve disease and was waiting for treatment before the coronavirus pandemic hit the country However Mr Benn was able to undergo treatment at Leeds General Infirmary.
“I was very short of breath and had great difficulty walking up the stairs, following a visit to my doctor I was referred for pioneering treatment,” said the 75-year-old.
“I was on the waiting list when the virus hit, I thought it wasn’t going to happen and I was going to die. Then I got the call.
“I was put in an isolation ward, tested negative for COVnurse
ID-19 and the following day I went in for my treatment.
“An hour and a half an hour later I was treated, back in my hospital bed and was able to go home the next day feeling like a different man.”
“That TAVI team deserve the world. When I laid there, the
was reassuring me, they were absolutely amazing.
“At one point during the op she said ‘we’re just putting your valve in now, and I thought blooming heck.’ They were amazing, everything they did my whole time there was incredible.”
If diagnosed and treated early, the vast majority of patients return to a good quality of life.
Doctor Dan Blackburn from Leeds General Infirmary said: “Rapid treatment of symptomatic severe aortic stenosis is critical to the life of the patient; without treatment survival is poor. We were able to assess Mr Benn via telephone consultation, perform TAVI under local anaesthetic, and discharge him home the following day.”
They were amazing, everything they did my whole time there was incredible.
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