New experimental heart procedure performed at Christus Trinity Mother Frances

TYLER — CHRISTUS Trinity Mother Frances is the first hospital in the region to try an experimental heart procedure that could prove to be lifesaving. Dr. Stan Weinar performed the surgery on Monday telling KTBB the procedure helps patients eliminate medication, “Blood thinners are something we frequently use to control AFib, but alot of people don’t do well with the so the Watchman device is a mechanical way to help seal off where the blood clots are coming from and control the risk for blood clots and for stroke.”

Dr. Weiner described the recovery time as very minimal, “We typically keep patients in the hospital overnight to make sure that they recover from the procedure and the anesthesia. They typically walk out of the hospital under their own power. They usually do not need a lot of rehabilitation or recovery. The procedure is a very limited type of intervention. The way it is done is by introducing a catheter, a small plastic tube, through one of the big blood vessels in the leg.”