As most of you already know, I had successful surgery to clear a blockage in the right carotid artery on August 11 at 9 AM at Inova Fairfax Hospital.

 

With the prayer support of a number of people, I had previously had the left carotid artery cleared of an 80% blockage in December, 2008. That surgery, performed at Fair Oaks Hospital virtually eliminated the blockage in the left carotid artery. I walked out of Fair Oaks hospital the next day after the surgery and went back to work a few days later.

 

Last week on Tuesday morning we went after the right carotid artery to clear a blockage of about 80 to 90%.  With Dr. Aryavand operating on August 11 at Fairfax Hospital, we had a similar good outcome. The surgery by Dr. Aryavand and his surgical team at Fairfax hospital, removed the blockage in the right carotid artery.

 

In each surgery, December 2008 and August 2009, the operation took about two hours. And in each surgery, we used only local anesthesia. We used no general anesthesia since in each operation I was awake and "working with" the surgeon to help monitor that we had not "knocked anything loose" that might create a problem in the process of clearing the carotid artery. Both surgical teams and both surgical recovery teams performed at excellent levels. I can state based on first hand knowledge that the anesthesiologists in both operations also performed at excellent levels.

 

After each surgery I walked out of the hospital within 24 hours after arriving. I am writing this from my home today; after another successful surgery by any measure.

 

I appreciate the ongoing prayers and support of my numerous friends and family in these successful surgeries. We do indeed have world class medical and surgical care in this country.

 

With the responsive assistance of CVTSA and Fairfax Hospital I moved up the date of the surgery since I was slated to be out of the country soon. I wanted to get the issue resolved before leaving the country. I have been in about 30 countries over the years, for stays ranging from a couple of days to a couple of years. So I know from first hand experience what we have here in the US and how favorably US medical care compares to the care available in other countries.

 

Keep me on the prayer wheel for continued rapid recuperation. After taking a day off, since August 14 I have been successfully back on a full time work schedule.