Cardiac Surgery at Southcoast: “I Couldn’t Have Asked for Better Treatment”

Albert Caron was less than two months away from his dream vacation when he awoke with chest pain one early May morning.

The good news, as he would soon learn from physicians at the Tobey Hospital Emergency Department, was that he hadn’t suffered a heart attack. But after being transferred to Charlton Memorial Hospital for a cardiac catheterization, Caron was told he had major blockages in five arteries in his heart — and would need quintuple bypass surgery. He worried that the procedure would derail a trip to Alaska he and his wife had been planning for their 35th wedding anniversary.

Luckily, Caron’s worries were put to ease. Thomas Carr, MD, Chief of Cardiac Surgery for Southcoast, performed state-of-theart cardiac surgery on the middle school teacher on May 30. The next day Caron walked from the Cardiac Intensive Care Unit to the Step Down Unit, began eating regular meals and started rehabilitation. He was home four days later.

On July 9, Caron and his wife, Eileen, began their long-anticipated dream vacation — a trip made all the more special by Caron’s successful cardiac surgery.

“I owe it to everyone — from my physician and nurses to the rehabilitation and dietary staff — for my quick recovery,” Caron said. “The individualized care was second to none. They took the time to explain everything to Eileen and really took great care of me. I couldn’t have asked for better treatment.”

Young and in relatively good shape, Caron had been a good candidate for surgery, Dr. Carr said. “State-of-the-art cardiac surgery, like that we perform at Charlton, allows most people to go back to work in four to six weeks. I saw no reason why Al couldn’t go on his vacation as long as he did not carry heavy baggage.”

Today, Caron is back teaching, eating healthy, exercising regularly and recently completed cardiac rehabilitation classes at Southcoast. His experience has changed his perspective on the quality of cardiac care available right in his community.

“Ten years ago I would never have considered cardiac surgery at Charlton,” Caron said. “Now, I wouldn’t go anywhere else.”