‘CHANCE TO LIVE MY LIFE’
Corewell Health cardiologist’s unconventional surgery saves Roseville patient
Last summer Alania Iannucci knew every breath she took could be her last.
After years of struggling with a heart condition that had grown progressively worse, she had become too ill for open heart surgery, which was the standard treatment for tricuspid valve failure.
No doctor would help her.
“I went to five doctors before I found Dr. Coram,” Iannucci said, of Rita Coram, M.D., a cardiologist who leads a team at Corewell Health Dearborn Hospital that specializes in heart valve replacement.
Coram and her team were determined to tackle the impossible resulting in compelling results.
“I feel amazing. I feel young. I can go for walks. I can walk through the grocery store and take my time shopping because I don’t have to worry about being attached to my oxygen,” said the 32-year-old resident of Roseville, who credits her second chance at life to Coram and her team.
“I had forgotten what normal was like,” added Iannucci, whose powerful story is likely to inspire hope in other heart patients being told there are no options. “Never give up and never take one answer.”
Six tries later she found Coram.
“She was grave,” Coram said, of Iannucci, who had undergone open heart surgery previously to repair a tricuspid valve also known as the “forgotten valve” but it became infected.
The job of the tricuspid valve is to allow blood flowing into the heart from the body to flow to the right ventricle where it’s pumped to the lungs for oxygen. It’s sometimes referred to as the forgotten valve because early symptoms of it failing are difficult to detect.
When it doesn’t do its job the body shuts down.
By the time Coram saw Iannucci her liver and kidneys were failing, she had water in her abdomen and there was no oxygen going to her brain. She had at least 10 major problems going on, which is why most cardiologists knew she would not be able to survive open heart surgery.
However, Coram is not like most cardiologists.
She specializes in heart valves.
“I knew that fixing one problem would solve all the others,” said Coram, who assembled her team and came up with a plan that would allow them to push the bad valve out the way and replace it with a good valve using a heart catheter.
It was an unconventional surgery and Coram had to win approval from the maker of the artificial valve she used to replace the tricuspid valve but the procedure was highly successful. In the near future, a new valve that the Food and Drug Administration has approved and designed especially for the tricuspid valve will be available but until then, Coram’s procedure will be touted as a lifesaver.
“She was grave but now she’s pink,” Coram said, of her patient whose new skin color is a sure sign that the heart valve is doing its job.
Corman attributes her success to her team but also to Iannucci.
“She’s stubborn and I think that saved her life because she did not accept that someone couldn’t help her,” said Coram, who encourages other cardiologists not to give up on their patients. “Let a cardiologist with specialty experience decide if this is the end or there’s a chance to reverse the course.”
That’s true in the case of Iannucci whose health has made a complete turn.
“You know what it’s like when you take a breath of fresh air on a sunny day?” Innucci said. “That’s what it was like.”
Her lungs filled with air. Her brain got the oxygen it needed and everything seemed bright including her future.
“I’m going to school. I’m in physical therapy and I even bought a car,” Iannucci said. “Dr. Coram gave me a chance to live my life and I’m so thankful.”