Greg Denning has never really liked going to the doctor, 在他生命的大部分时间里，他都是一个活跃的人，能够避免大量的医疗护理.
有一天，当他和妻子黛布住在怀俄明州时，这种情况开始发生变化. 他在建造一个小木屋然后出现了一些身体症状，比如 shortness of breath and fatigue, that made Deb worry. 她非常担心，说服他去急诊室. They didn't find anything at the time, but after moving to Grand Junction, Colorado a short time later, Greg's symptoms got worse. 他开始盗汗，呼吸严重急促，精神萎靡. 作为一对精力充沛的夫妇，格雷格和黛布对这些症状减慢了他的速度感到沮丧.
Then, during a routine physical, 格雷格在大章克森的初级保健医生注意到他有心脏问题的迹象，立即把他送到心脏病专家那里. He was eventually diagnosed with a severe mitral valve leak that would require heart surgery.
The mitral valve separates the heart from the lungs. It opens and closes like a saloon door, according to Dr. 克雷格·塞尔兹曼，心胸外科主任 at University of Utah Health. When it's working properly, 门打开，连接在心肌上的细绳将其拉回原位，将其密封，防止血液回流到肺部.
“二尖瓣由这些小的‘降落伞索’连接，所以它会打开并停止，而不是摆动得太远," Dr. Selzman said. "Mr. 丹宁有一个非常典型的情况，他的一些绳索断裂了. When someone has symptoms from that, the only way to repair it is surgically."
格雷格的保险公司想把他送到大章克森的医院做手术, 但那里的外科医生必须从胸腔进入他的心脏, breaking his breastbone in the process. The recovery would be difficult, painful, and long.
Deb, with a background as a case manager and advocate, 开始研究其他选择，发现了一种微创手术，外科医生可以通过肋骨之间的小切口进入，使用特殊工具进入并修复格雷格的心脏瓣膜.
不幸的是，大章克森没有外科医生能做这个手术. 最初她唯一能找到的地方就是梅奥诊所, 但格雷格的保险不允许他去明尼苏达州. 她在离家更近的地方找了一家类似的诊所. 大发娱乐的塞尔兹曼做了这个手术——而且格雷格的保险公司也会批准的.
为了减少手术前的往返. 塞尔兹曼与大章克森的医生协调进行了所有的检查. 当格雷格和黛布到达盐湖城时，他们讨论了手术的选择. While many surgeons would simply 用新的机械或生物装置更换损坏的阀门, Dr. Selzman tries a number of different approaches to preserve the patient's own native valve. Dr. 塞尔兹曼告诉丹宁斯，他将在手术中尝试修复格雷格的先天性二尖瓣三次. 在那之后，如果他对修理的质量不满意，他会更换阀门.
“让大发娱乐印象深刻的是，他非常关心自己的工作，愿意付出额外的努力," Deb said. “谈论这件事我感到非常激动，它对我来说非常强大. I could lose this person I love, 我让一个医生给他治疗我觉得我完全信任他."
在三到四个小时的手术过程中，黛布没有任何家人或朋友陪伴, but she wasn't on her own.
"There was someone from Dr. 只要我有任何问题，塞尔兹曼的团队都可以随时为我大发娱乐提供咨询。. “我并不觉得孤单，因为医院和[Dr. Selzman's] team provided. It was pretty amazing, honestly."
格雷格在圣诞节前两天出院了，他说他的康复很容易. He was never bedridden, he could shower and do most daily tasks on his own, 不到六周，他就重返工作岗位，没有任何限制.
“手术后我只吃了一两周的止痛药，”格雷格说. “他们的肺塌陷了，但这真的是唯一重要的事情. 我的一个朋友刚做了心脏手术，他要休息三个月. I talked to him yesterday and he still has chest pain. They broke his sternum. 我很高兴黛比有动力去了解另一种选择."
The procedure is not new, but outside of major cities or large hospital systems, many surgeons have been slow to adopt minimally invasive mitral valve repair or replacement. Dr. 塞尔兹曼和他的同事接受其他专家无法治疗的疾病和病症的转诊. 他擅长微创心血管手术, 在多年的实践中，他学会了如何为微创手术确定合适的候选者, versus those who need a more traditional approach.
"Within our region, 没有很多人在常规的基础上做微创二尖瓣修复或置换手术," Dr. Selzman said. "You have some that do them occasionally, 但不像大发娱乐在犹他健康大学所做的那样全面. 人们指望大发娱乐是因为大发娱乐是西部山区唯一的学术医疗中心."
但并不是每个患者都适合微创二尖瓣修复手术, it is a good option for many people. Older patients, 尤其是那些身体虚弱，可能难以从侵入性手术中恢复的人, can often heal much quicker. After the traditional surgery, the patient's breastbone is wired shut as it heals, so it comes with a lot of restrictions. Patients cannot drive or lift anything for six weeks, 即使是抬起手臂从橱柜里拿东西，或者早上试图用手臂保持平衡或起床，也会阻碍康复.
For Deb, finding Dr. 让塞尔兹曼给格雷格做手术简直是个奇迹. "It makes me want to cry, honestly," she said. "It was remarkable. We are extremely independent people; we have very active lifestyles. Because of Dr. 塞尔兹曼，大发娱乐的生活已经回归正常大发娱乐还有很长的路要走."