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Maher’s odyssey began in April Anne Maher
Although she lives on the East Coast, Maher returned to UC Irvine for her treatment. Good thing she did. In September, Dr. Jeffrey Milliken, chief of UC Irvine’s division of cardiothoracic surgery, successfully removed Maher’s upper right lung and lymph nodes in a minimally invasive procedure. Such operations result in smaller incisions, shorter hospital stays and quicker recoveries. Maher, pain-free and convalescing comfortably at the hospital, suffered a major stroke just a week later that left her left side paralyzed. UC Irvine’s award-winning nurses immediately summoned a team of stroke specialists. A CT-scan and MRI confirmed that she had suffered an acute stroke and revealed a blood clot in Maher’s brain. Dr. Binh V. Nguyen, the director of neurointerventional radiology, destroyed much of the clot with a catheter to Maher’s brain. But when a piece of the clot broke off, Nguyen quickly located and eliminated that, too. “My mother came out of there like she hadn’t had a stroke at all,” Marks said. “I’d say it was a miracle.” But Maher’s ordeal was far from over. Two weeks later, UC Irvine doctors addressed the plaque build up in Maher’s right carotid artery, one of two main arteries that deliver oxygenated blood from the heart to the brain. Vascular surgeon John Lane removed a piece of plaque that, if not excised, could have caused another stroke. These days, Maher is resting comfortably back at her home in Whiting, N.J. She has since given up smoking and takes daily medications to control her high blood pressure and arrhythmia, two conditions UC Irvine doctors discovered during her 2 ½- month stay. “Everything worked out beautifully,” Maher said. “I would recommend UC Irvine to everybody. I’ve never had such care from nurses and doctors. They were wonderful.” Her daughter agrees. Recently, Marks made a $1,000 contribution to the hospital to express her gratitude. “They were amazing.” “The doctors at UC Irvine saved my mother’s life,” she said. — Marc Ballon, Health Affairs Advancement
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University of California, Irvine • Irvine, CA 92697 |
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Maher’s odyssey began in April. At the urging of her daughter Pam Marks – UC Irvine’s director of neuropsychiatry, the 78-year-old Maher agreed to have her annual physical at UC Irvine’s Senior Health Center. An X-ray showed a spot on the right lung of Maher, a pack-a-day smoker for 50 years. A PET scan performed in her native New Jersey later confirmed that finding, suggesting that Maher’s tumor was probably cancerous. 