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A New Outlook
One patient's story
 New form of heart surgery has Denise Dupree living life to the fullest.
Denise Dupree never saw it coming. Shortness of breath, fatigue and chest pain.
“I had a surprise party for my husband and after 10 minutes of dancing, I was out of breath and had a lot of chest pain,” she said.
On the advice of a friend, Denise (pictured in first photograph with son, Braxton) went to see the heart experts at Union Memorial Hospital. A series of tests revealed more than she bargained for. The same mitral heart valve that was surgically repaired two years ago at another hospital was faulty again, leaking blood back into her heart, a condition called mitral valve regurgitation. This put Denise’s heart under tremendous strain, and more surgery was necessary. The news was a terrible blow to Denise.
That’s when she turned to Dr. Michael Fiocco, Chief of Cardiovascular Surgery at Union Memorial Hospital, who offered a safer, better solution to fix her defective valve — minimally invasive valve replacement surgery, a remarkable improvement over traditional open-heart surgery.
“I was delighted to hear the procedure was right for me,” said Denise, then 54, a former high school and collegiate basketball player. “Dr. Fiocco was very confident and he gave me the same feeling.”
The Harry & Jeanette Weinberg Heart Institute at Union Memorial Hospital is one of the highest volume programs in the region. In fact, it is rated one of the top cardiovascular hospitals in the country. Here, our team of cardiac surgeons is recognized for their expertise and high success rates with complex, high-risk surgeries. What’s more, these same surgeons are performing heart surgery with greater precision through smaller incisions, a technique used at only a handful of hospitals.
Union Memorial’s minimally invasive approach to mitral valve surgery offers significant benefits to patients. It requires a smaller incision — usually 2½ inches — and there’s less blood loss, fewer days in the hospital and a faster return to normal activities, an average of two to three weeks. Standard surgery involves a large incision through the breastbone and recovery can take up to 12 weeks.
“We have a magnified view of the heart through the smaller incision,” said Dr. Fiocco, who used slender instruments to replace Denise’s mitral valve with a tissue valve. “Our longstanding experience with minimally invasive mitral valve surgery means we are achieving excellent outcomes. Patients are getting back to work and their lives in a matter of weeks.”
Denise had surgery on a Wednesday, went home on Sunday and could pretty well fend for herself right away. Her most surprising result: She was back to full strength, without any restrictions, within eight weeks.
Today, Denise’s life has settled into normalcy again. And she’s living it with the confidence and renewed energy that come with having a healthy heart.
“I feel great. I’ve always been active and I’m doing things I thought I might never be able to do again.”
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