From an article in McLeod Magazine by Jennifer Hulon with
Dr. Timothy Carr, Emergency Physician
Dr. Christopher Cunningham, McLeod Vascular Associates
                                                                                      
“I’m very fortunate McLeod Health has an Emergency Department nearby.” I was told “that if I had waited two hours, I would not be alive.”  — Myrtle Beach resident Conrad Alt

After three days of vomiting, hot flashes and severe abdominal pain, Myrtle Beach resident Conrad Alt gave up on self-treatment and went around the corner from his home to the McLeod Carolina Forest Emergency Department. He was in agonizing pain.

McLeod Emergency Room Physician Dr. Timothy Carr reviewed Alt’s symptoms, palpated his abdomen and performed a bedside ultrasound. Then, a chest CT scan confirmed the life-threatening abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA). The aorta, the largest blood vessel in the body, runs through the heart. The aneurysm, a bulge in the aorta, can rupture quickly causing death.

Dr. Carr called in McLeod Vascular Surgeon Dr. Christopher Cunningham. When Alt arrived at the McLeod Health Seacoast Operating Room, Dr. Cunningham and the OR team were ready to operate as there was no time to waste.

To repair Conrad’s aneurysm, Dr. Cunningham gained access through a minimally-invasive surgical procedure called Endovascular Aneurysm Repair (EVAR). During the EVAR procedure,  the vascular surgeon inserts a stent graft (a fabric tube supported by metal wire stents that reinforces the weak spot in the aorta) into the aneurysm through small incisions in the groin. Endovascular repair of aneurysms does not require a large incision and has a substantially shorter recovery time than the conventional open surgical approach.

Although not all aneurysms are suitable for endovascular repair, Alt’s procedure was successful with no complications. Conrad went home within two days. Thanks to the minimally invasive surgical approach, Alt was back at work at Aberdeen County Club and playing golf in only three weeks.

ACTION YOU CAN TAKE
If you are suffering symptoms similar to Conrad Alt, go to the nearest Emergency Department for care.

Find a McLeod Emergency Department near you.

• Florence – McLeod Regional Medical Center Emergency Department, 851 East Cheves Street, Florence, SC 29506
• McLeod Health Seacoast, 4000 Highway 9 East Little River, SC 29566
• McLeod Health Loris, 3655 Mitchell Street, Loris, SC 29569
• McLeod Health Carolina Forest, 101 McLeod Health Blvd., Myrtle Beach, SC 29579 — Intersection of International Drive and Highway 31
• McLeod Health Dillon, 301 East Jackson Street, Dillon, SC 29536
• McLeod Health Cheraw, 711 Chesterfield Highway, Cheraw, SC 29520
• McLeod Health Clarendon, 10 East Hospital Street, Manning, SC 29102

Read the entire article on page 29, McLeod Magazine.