Dr. David Gnegy is President of Parkersburg Cardiology Associates and Camden Clark Medical Director of Cath Lab and Cardiac Services. The medical center recently commemorated the 20th anniversary of open heart services in the Mid-Ohio Valley. (Photo by Brett Dunlap)

PARKERSBURG — For 20 years, the Parkersburg area has had open heart surgery which has helped save many lives locally.

The WVU Medicine Camden Clark Medical Center marked the occasion this past week to commemorate the milestone of the first-ever open-heart surgery procedure conducted in the region.

Ritchie County native Doris Cantwell underwent the triple bypass surgery, which was performed at the former St. Joseph’s Hospital by cardiothoracic surgeons Zafrullah Kahn MD, Kee Lee MD, and Ben Morgan, PA on April 5, 2004.

This achievement marked a turning point in improving access to cardiac care for area residents and their families, hospital officials said.

Parkersburg Cardiology Associates was at the center of efforts to bring open heart and angioplasty services to the Mid-Ohio Valley.

Cardiac surgeons at at the WVU Medicine Camden Clark Medical can now do aortic surgery; atrial fibrillation surgery; bypass surgery; congenital heart surgery, hypertrophic cardiomyopathy surgery – septal myectomy; heart failure surgery – left ventricular assist devices; left ventricular reconstruction; and valve surgery. (Photo Provided)

“The 20th anniversary of the first open heart surgery in the Mid-Ohio Valley is a testament to the unwavering dedication of our cardiac care team,” said Dr. David Gnegy, President of Parkersburg Cardiology Associates and Camden Clark Medical Director of Cath Lab and Cardiac Services. “We are proud to have helped transform cardiac care delivery and to ensure that patients receive the highest quality of care possible right here at home.”

For years people used to have to travel out of the area for advanced heart care, going to places like Charleston, Cleveland or elsewhere.

Parkersburg Cardiology Associates worked with the local hospital and the state for a number of years to be able to provide those services locally.

“It took a couple of years to get the program up and running with the assistance of the surgeons from Charleston,” Gnegy said.

With open heart services and angioplasty, they have been able to help a lot of people, he said.

WVU Medicine Camden Clark Medical Center is commemorating 20 years of open heart services and the advances in cardiac care. (Photo Provided)

“Especially with immediate heart attack care for people coming into the emergency room,” Gnegy said. “We have been able to get those arteries opened up immediately with a stent or a balloon which has saved lives.”

Before, people would have to be shipped off which could have taken an hour to an hour and a half before they could get the care they needed which could cause more damage to the heart. Being able to do angioplasty immediately has allowed doctors to be able to address concerns, save heart muscle and more.

“It saves lives,” Gnegy said.

St. Joseph’s Hospital merged with Camden Clark under WVU Medicine, eventually only having the Camden Clark campus providing an array of advanced medical procedures.

With the support of WVU Medicine and the Heart and Vascular Institute in Morgantown, Camden Clark has been able to provide more advanced heart care to the local community, Gnegy said.

Theresa Dugan and HR Lockhart are Special Procedures Techs at the Camden Clark Medical Center and have been in the Cath Lab since it began and have seen a lot of the advances in how patients are treated in regards to heart care. (Photo by Brett Dunlap)

“For the average heart patient, they don’t have to leave home,” he said. “They can get their care here locally.

“Their families are here to support them. We have saved lives. There are clearly people who would not have survived if they had to be transferred out of here.”

Over the last 20 years, advances have been made in heart care and open heart surgery with robotic surgery and more. Advances have also been made in how stents are made and put in and how blocked arteries are being opened up. New medications are being developed.

Looking back, there was a time when there were no local doctors doing angioplasty. They hired Dr. Scott Manders from California who came and helped start up the program, Gnegy said, adding Dr. Chip Goddard was the first interventional cardiologist brought to the area.

They now have three interventional cardiologists.

The WVU Medicine Camden Clark Medical Center commemorated 20 years of open heart services and the advances in cardiac care. (Photo by Brett Dunlap)

“We had to bring new talent in,” Gnegy said. “Over time, they were able to bring in more people.”

Now through the Heart and Vascular Institute, they have two open-heart surgeons, Dr. Nestor Dans and Dr. Nathaniel Kister.

HR Lockhart and Theresa Dugan are Special Procedures Techs and have been in the Cath Lab since it began.

“There is new technology that is available that wasn’t here before that we are saving people’s lives with now,” Lockhart said. “Stents have been improved and assist devices are helping critically ill patients survive.

“The technology just keeps getting better and better.”

The WVU Medicine Camden Clark Medical Center commemorated 20 years of open heart services and the advances in cardiac care. This past Thursday, hospital officials handed out special cookies to commemorate the event. (Photo by Brett Dunlap)

Procedures are utilizing arteries in the wrist where they went through an artery in the leg which required a lot of bed rest. With the wrist, patients are able to get up and walk soon after the procedure.

“Recoveries are a lot quicker,” Lockhart said.

Dugan said people used to have to stay a couple nights or so. Now in most cases, people have to stay overnight to make sure there are no problems.

Cardiac surgeons at Camden Clark can now do aortic surgery; atrial fibrillation surgery; bypass surgery; congenital heart surgery, hypertrophic cardiomyopathy surgery — septal myectomy; heart failure surgery — left ventricular assist devices; left ventricular reconstruction; and valve surgery.

Gnegy said they continue to grow with Parkersburg Cardiology Associates going from having a single floor at St. Joseph’s Hospital to having a whole building adjacent to Camden Clark which includes a heart failure clinic, pacemaker clinic, cardiac rehab and more.

“The growth has been phenomenal,” Gnegy said. “The future is bright.”

They are looking at bringing new services and technologies to the area. He hopes they can eventually be able to do heart ablations which is something they continue to send people elsewhere for.

New procedures are happening with smaller incisions and new methods. Gnegy said having someone’s chest cut open is not the only way to do some heart surgeries.

The hospital remains committed to advancing medical knowledge, embracing cutting-edge technology, and delivering high-quality care to the Mid-Ohio Valley.

“In the future we will be less invasive to do the same type of repairs for quicker recovery times so people can get back to their lives sooner,” Gnegy said. “The advances continue to save lives.”

Brett Dunlap can be reached at bdunlap@newsandsentinel.com