CVVC Surgeons Save a Limb Place Patient Back in Golfing Heaven
CVVC Surgeons Save a Limb Place Patient Back in Golfing Heaven
Kristian O. Hochberg, MD
Golfing is heaven for Jeffrey Phillips, 65, and thanks to a team of experts at Coastal Vascular & Vein Center, he will still be able to walk for miles on the best courses South Carolina has to offer and savor an occasional 79 score.
Phillips knows that now, but earlier in the year he had no guarantees.
As the weather warmed, Phillips noticed that walking was getting more painful; his legs cramped and often ached.
“One day I was walking around looking for a lost golf ball in the rough,” Phillips recalled. “And all the sudden a cramp hit the back of my leg. It wouldn’t go away. Eventually it shifted to just an annoyance, so I kept playing.”
But several weeks later, Phillips could not walk more than 50 yards without pain. He also had wounds around his toe that would not heal.
Things got a lot bleaker.
In late February, Phillips listened to a team of doctors at CVVC assure him that they would do all that they could to open blockages in his veins but there was still a 50% chance that they might have to amputate his left leg just below, or above the knee.”
“It was a bad situation,” said Dr. Sean Hislop, medical director, who had repaired an endovascular aneurysm for Phillips years before. “One artery was blocked from the groin to the toes.”
“It would have been really easy to give up, but as a team, we battled,” said Craig Kilgore, CEO.
First, Dr. Adam Keefer “went to the mats to get [Phillips’] popliteal artery opened up from posterior tibial access site,” Kilgore explained.
Later the same month, “Dr. Kristian Hochberg navigated a three-hour complicated procedure to pull out clots and open several arteries,” Kilgore added. “Phillips’ endovascular aneurysm repair kept Dr. Hochberg from using normal access points. However, eventually, he got Phillips’ blood to flow all the way down into his foot.”
Dr. Hochberg “did miracles,” Phillips said. “He cleaned out arteries for hours. It was a really involved procedure and he did not give up.”
“I was grimacing at times, and he apologized, but for miracles, you do what you have to do,” Phillips added.
“Most people would have given up and relegated the patient to an amputation,” Dr. Hislop said. “But he [Dr. Hochberg] kept going. “We have a great team of techs and nurses at the EV center. Mr. Phillips had the great surgeons work on him, each with slightly different things to offer. That team effort is how you get such great results.”
“Historically, the amputation rate in South Carolina has been higher than the national average per capita,” Dr. Hochberg explained.
As the miracle save of Phillips’ leg demonstrates, CVVC focuses on helping patients avoid amputations.
“Our approach is never the same between patients,” Dr. Hochberg added. “But we use minimally invasive procedures as much as possible.”
Those procedures may involve using balloons or stents — or reconstruction. If, for some reason, those approaches don’t open the artery, then the vascular surgeons at CVVC can do a bypass of the blocked artery using another piece of the patient’s arteries, or PTFE.
“Once we open up arteries, the pain goes away and patients like Mr. Phillips can get on with their lives fairly quickly,” explained Dr. Hochberg.
Phillips is doing his part too, his doctors noted. He changed his diet, stopped smoking and eased back into his walking routine on the greens. He will still see Dr. Hislop for maintenance.
“After-care is a lot like the need to get an oil change, tire changes and other routine checks to keep the whole engine from shutting down,” Dr. Hislop said. “We will watch his arteries to ensure that they are not narrowing.”
Post-treatment care also includes glucose control and ensuring that Phillips can maintain a healthy diet and keep exercising.
“From check-in to the surgeon’s miracles, everything was amazing,” Phillips said. “I am so thankful to the entire team, which includes great nurses and staff.”
“They saved my husband’s life and limbs more than once,” said Phillips’ wife, CeeCee.
“Everyone should know about Jeffrey Phillips’ story,” said Dr. Hislop. “It confirms the importance of finding a team like ours — a group of expert surgeons who are willing to safely push the limits to save limbs.”
Saving Limbs, Saving Lives
At CVVC, our vascular specialists are free to listen more, collaborate more, and take on new technologies that others do not have the time or access to provide. We turn to minimally invasive vascular procedures first. If needed, our experts can also navigate complex surgeries to ensure that you can live your best life.
