Page 10 - Talk of Tequesta - February '23

Page 10, The Talk Of Tequesta

Cardiology

Minimally Invasive Procedures For Patients

With Structural Heart And Valve Diseases

Open-heart surgery has long been the standard of advanced approach available. Cleveland Clinic Florida MitraClip
care for most patients with valve disease. More recently, surgeons use a state-of-the-art robotic surgical system that Mitral valve degenerative disease is often treated with
however, minimally invasive procedures, such as has been approved by the FDA for use in many surgical medical therapy. However, patients for whom medical therapy
robotically assisted valve repair, transcatheter aortic valve procedures. fails and for whom surgery is too much of a risk may be
replacement (TAVR) and the MitraClip™ procedure, have Using the robot offers the surgeon a wider range of candidates for less invasive, catheter-based options, such as
emerged as safe and effective alternatives for patients with motion and more precision in employing the surgical MitraClip, the first device approved by the FDA to treat high-
advanced and complex valve disease. instruments, along with a more detailed, magnified 3-D risk patients with degenerative mitral regurgitation. Cleveland
There are a variety of minimally invasive approaches view of the surgical field than in an open procedure. The Clinic participated in the COAPT clinical trial for MitraClip,
to valve repair or replacement, but all offer the same robotically assisted technique utilizes incisions that are which has shown the device provides a tremendous benefit
benefits: a smaller scar, lower risk of infection, less often less than 2 inches – smaller than the incisions used and improvement in survival and quality of life when used in
bleeding and trauma, a shorter hospital stay and a shorter for conventional minimally invasive surgery (about 3 to patients with reduced heart function.
recovery period. 4 inches). Not all patients are candidates for minimally invasive treatment
Robotically Assisted Valve Repair Transcatheter Valve Replacement (TAVR) for structural heart or valve disease. Cleveland Clinic Florida’s
For people who need a mitral valve repair, studies Open procedure valve replacement has been the multidisciplinary team evaluates each patient for the appropriate
have shown that robotic surgery may be better than other standard of care for most patients with aortic stenosis. solution to their structural heart disease or valve problems.
minimally invasive approaches for many reasons – it is However, in recent years the minimally invasive
associated with less bleeding, trauma, chance of infection, transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) procedure Talk With An Expert
and need for blood products. has revolutionized management of this condition. It is now To schedule an appointment with a Cleveland
Cleveland Clinic Florida is one of the few centers in the a treatment option for some patients with severe aortic Clinic Florida specialist, call (877) 463-2010 or visit
country offering a robot-assisted approach to minimally stenosis who are too ill to have traditional open-heart ClevelandClinicFlorida.org/Access.
invasive valve repair or replacement, which is the most surgery to replace the aortic valve.

sporTs

Jupiter Senior Softball

Gerry Elias, cofounder and first commissioner
of the Jupiter Senior Softball Association
(JSSA), was posthumously enshrined in the
organization’s Hall of Fame in a Jan. 11
ceremony.
Elias, 82, died last February. He was chosen
as the 2022 Hall of Fame honoree by unanimous
vote of the JSSA board last April. “Gerry was well
liked and he made a huge difference and is most
deserving of this honor,” Commissioner Paul
Storch said in opening the induction ceremony.
Gerry’s wife, Mariette, sister Phyllis
Rodrigues, niece Stephanie Riley and twin
grandsons, Max and Jake Boland, attended the Richard Sewell addresses family and friends of Hall of Fame inductee Gerry Elias, the 2022 Inductee into the Jupiter Senior Softball
ceremony held at Jupiter Community Park. Gerry Elias Hall of Fame
The event drew a large
crowd of senior
softball players,
several of whom
shared fond
memories of Gerry
and the many acts
o f k i n d n e ss h e
performed for others.
Assoc i a t i on
Vice Commissioner
Richard Sewell
spoke of Gerry’s
commitment to Mariette Elias with ball she tossed
the senior softball to open the senior softball Winter
program and how League
crucial his leadership
was to its success. Elias was league commissioner from
1999 to 2002 when the softball program transitioned
“from 12 to 13 guys playing league travel ball (in various
communities) to 230 who play three mornings a week,”
Sewell said. He presented Mariette and the family framed
copies of the Hall of Fame plaque and of a narrative about
Elias’ life and impact on Jupiter senior softball.
The Hall of Fame ceremony coincided with the launch
of the association’s 2023 Winter League and Mariette was
given the honor of throwing out the ceremonial “first pitch.”
Gerry Elias is the third person to be enshrined in the JSSA
Hall of Fame since its establishment in 2020. The late
Ted Battistone, who died in April 2020, was the inaugural
inductee followed by Mike Richmond, the 2021 inductee.
The year-round slow-pitch softball program is open
to persons 55 and older and is sponsored by the Jupiter
Senior Softball Association in cooperation with the Town
of Jupiter. For information contact Gary Newman at (917)
623-0791. Registration can be made online at www.
leaguelineup.com/jssa.