Sam Ramos, DDS – Open Heart Surgery Success Story
Better than he ever could have imagined
Area dentist is Methodist Charlton’s 100th open heart surgery patient
Sam Ramos, DDS, has a long, happy history with Methodist Charlton Medical Center. It’s where all six of his children were born, where he had dental surgery in 1990, and where he underwent cardiac catheterization and rehabilitation in 2004.
So when Dr. Ramos learned he needed bypass surgery, choosing a hospital was easy.
“Of course I selected Methodist Charlton,” he says. In doing so, Dr. Ramos became the hospital’s 100th open heart surgery patient.
Heart attack averted
In the weeks before learning he needed bypass surgery, Dr. Ramos experienced
nausea whenever he exercised. Suspecting heart problems again, he sought
help from his cardiologist, Ravi Chandrasekhara, MD, who recommended he
undergo another catheterization procedure. During catheterization, a stent
is used to open a blocked artery and can prevent a heart attack. This
time, however, the blockages were too severe.
Bypass surgery was scheduled for Feb. 12 — right in the middle of American Heart Month — with thoracic surgeon John Jay, MD. (Both Drs. Chandrasekhara and Jay are independently practicing physicians on the medical staff at Methodist Charlton.
Dr. Ramos was released five days after surgery, on his birthday, and was greeted at home by a celebration with family and friends.
Just four weeks later, he was back to work part-time, and he returned to work full-time the following week.
Served by a stellar team
Although the open heart surgery program at Methodist Charlton is relatively new, its physicians, nurses, and support staff bring decades of open heart surgery experience to the program.
“I love the staff at Methodist Charlton,” Dr. Ramos says. “The nurses, the doctors, the care I received, and the detailed explanations and answers to my questions — my wife and I felt so well taken care of.”
He adds that with lots of prayer and support from his family, friends, and patients, “Everything turned out better than I ever could have imagined.”
From the fall 2013 edition of Shine magazine.