Veterinarian Michael Maida, D.V.M., is skilled at diagnosing medical problems in cats and dogs. But even though the bodies of animals and humans are different, his expertise in veterinary medicine paid off when he suffered a dangerous rupture of a thoracic aortic aneurysm in late July. After collapsing at home with severe chest pains, Dr. Maida, 58, knew that his condition was life-threatening. He told paramedics to 'Hurry or I'm going to die."
Swift diagnostic and medical intervention at The Valley Hospital's Emergency Department and complex surgery performed by Valley Columbia Heart Center cardiac surgeon Jason S. Sperling, M.D., saved the River Vale veterinarian's life. Approximately 10 weeks later, he was back at the VCA Closter Animal Hospital saving his furry patients' lives.
A lifelong athlete and sports aficionado, Dr. Maida was getting ready for a run in preparation for the New York City Marathon at 7:15 a.m. on July 26, 2009, when unbearable chest pain caused him to drop to the floor and lose consciousness. His wife, Nancy, performed CPR and resuscitated him, while his daughter, Megan, called 911. With a blood pressure reading of 220, cold sweats, and breathlessness closing in on him, Dr. Maida suffered seizures during the ambulance ride to Valley.
While his wife, daughter, son Stephen, daughter-in-law Angie, and internist Anthony P. Volpe, M.D., waited in the ED, a CT scan revealed that an aneurysm (bulge) within Dr. Maida's ascending aorta near his heart had ruptured. Blood was leaking into the confined space surrounding his heart, a deadly condition known as cardiac tamponade. The aorta is the major blood vessel that supplies blood from the heart to other parts of the body. The ascending aorta is the part of this blood vessel that immediately exits the heart. Aneurysms in the thoracic aorta, the area that runs from the heart through the chest, may have a genetic basis and grow and bulge out due to changes in aortic wall tensile strength and high blood pressure. A ruptured thoracic aortic aneurysm is life-threatening and often claims its victims before they even reach an emergency room.
Within minutes of being notified, Dr Sperling arrived at Valley from a gym where he was playing a morning game of basketball. Even though it was a Sunday morning, the cardiac surgery operating room team quickly assembled and prepared the OR for Dr. Maida. In the ER, he suffered cardiac arrest and had to be resuscitated again, this time by Dr. Sperling.
"Our strategy with a patient who has suffered a ruptured thoracic aortic aneurysm is that as long as that patient is alive and has not suffered obvious severe and irreparable damage is that we are going to try to save his or her life," says Dr. Sperling, Subspecialty Director of the Valley Columbia Heart Center's Thoracic Aneurysm Management Program. "Statistically, roughly 70 to 80 percent of patients who present with a catastrophic aortic event, such as an aortic aneurysm or an aortic dissection, and undergo surgery do survive, especially here where we have special expertise in monitoring and treating aneurysms of the chest."
"Within a whirlwind of 10 minutes, I was told Michael might die and then Dr. Sperling came to me and said, 'There is a 70-percent chance that everything will go well with surgery,'" Mrs. Maida recalls. "I cannot describe in words how comforting and safe Dr .Sperling made me feel that he was going to save Michael's life."
Over the next five hours, Dr. Sperling and the cardiac OR team repaired Dr. Maida's damaged aorta by replacing the blood vessel with a polyester tube in the area where the aneurysm had ruptured.
"I woke up the next day in the cardiac ICU and was surprised to find I had already had surgery," says Dr. Maida. "Over the next few days, everyone went above and beyond to care for me and support my family."
After five days, Dr .Maida was released from Valley, but he returned the next week to be treated for several blood clots that had lodged in his lungs. Throughout August and early September, he followed up with Dr. Sperling, and his vascular surgeon Daniel J. Char, M.D., cardiologist Sheldon B. Eisenberg, M.D., and internist Anthony P. Volpe, M.D. Dr. Char is monitoring Dr. Maida for blood clots in his legs, while Dr. Eisenberg is helping him lower his blood pressure. Dr. Sperling will continue to monitor a small residual aneurysm near his heart.
"Once a person has had an aneurysm, he or she is at risk for others so we will keep an eye on it," says Dr. Sperling, an assistant clinical professor of surgery at the Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons. "Because Dr. Maida exercised regularly and took care of himself, his body was well-prepared for surgery and he bounced back quickly."
Although he missed the New York City Marathon and will have to skip skiing this winter, Dr. Maida was able to resume running, get back into the garden, and travel to Florida. An outpouring of good wishes, cards, gifts, hugs, and flowers awaited him from his patients’ owners when he returned to the VCA Closter Animal Hospital, where he is the medical director.
"Many of my staff and I have been together for more than 25 years, and we have cared for the same clients over and over again through the years with different pets so it was wonderful to go back to work," says Dr. Maida. "My family and I have always lived life every day, and that’s the way we intend to continue."