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The Ramsay Way - 2016 Edition 2

25 Years of Cardiac Surgery... at Strathfield Private Giving Hope to Men with Infertility Dr Shannon Kim, Urologist at Westmead Private Hospital is giving hope to men with infertility after successfully undertaking Ejaculatory Duct Obstruction (EDO) surgery on two young men with great success. The Ramsay Way 2016 | 02 15 HOSPITALS Strathfield Private Hospital celebrates 25 years of heart innovations this year. For Josline Ayoub the impending signs of heart attack were anything but “the feeling of an elephant-sitting-on-the-chest”. Josline, 49, from Croydon, was treated at Strathfield Private after suffering a heart attack whilst shopping with her daughter. “The day it happened I had no chest pain at all really; the pain was more in my back and jaw and I had some numbness in my arm,” says Josline. “For about a year before that I had the same recurring numbness in my arm but no major chest pain, and one GP put it down to stress. “It was only when I was taken to hospital that the doctors discovered an underlying congenital heart defect. That’s why I urge all women to thoroughly investigate any persistent early symptoms with a cardiologist.” The Hospital has thrown its support behind the Heart Foundation’s “making the invisible visible” campaign for Heart Month in June – which aims women to help women like Josline recognise the sometimes “subtle” symptoms of female heart disease. For Amelia, aged 45, a wife and mum, it was signs of significant heart failure, and the subsequent valve replacement via open heart surgery that now allows her heart to keep up with her. Today, heart disease is the biggest killer of women in Australia according to the Heart Foundation – yet 40 per cent of women have no chest pain symptoms – with jaw pain, back pain, neck pain, severe unexplained fatigue, shortness of breath, dizziness, cold sweats and nausea all some of the more subtle signs. The good news is that Strathfield Private continues to provide excellent outcomes for cardiac patients like Josline and Amelia. “Twenty five years ago, Strathfield Private performed some of Australia’s earliest heart surgeries,” says Strathfield Private CEO Paul Darcy. “Today the innovation continues and our surgeons can replace a heart valve without cutting the chest in high risk TAVI (Trans Catheter Aortic Valve Implant) patients – where the valve is replaced via the groin.” He says the hospital treats patients from all around the Asia Pacific Region. “Despite many of these patients having complex cardiac disease our survival rate is 98 per cent – well above international benchmark for this age group.”  Strathfield private cardiac patients Josline Ayoub and Amelia Renu discuss female heart disease. EDO can cause pelvic pain and male infertility and is difficult to diagnose, however if the correct diagnosis is made a transurethral incision of the ejaculatory duct can be performed. If successful, men with no sperm can have normal fertility potential, with often good quality and quantity of sperm. For both patients, a 17 year old and a 25 year old, the future looks brighter for them to naturally conceive when the right time arrives. Both men have received good results following the procedure with a high sperm count on a recent analysis. Dr David Golovsky a senior urologist and male infertility specialist in Sydney assisted Dr Kim during the surgery. One performing dynamic ultrasound to demonstrate the ejaculatory duct, the other surgeon performing cystoscopic incision of ejaculatory duct obstruction. Traditionally, ejaculatory duct was resected using hot current. However, this can seal the ejaculatory duct closed as tissue undergoes healing, rendering the procedure futile in many cases. Now using this duo’s cold knife technique, their ejaculatory duct will more likely remain open. Dr Kim said: “I am so happy I could help these young men, who were desperate for their problem to be resolved. It is such a difficult time for them and their families and such a relief when we had success. The whole operating suite cheered and applauded when we had a good release and could see a good amount of sperm flow out during the procedure.”  Urologist Dr Shannon Kim, conducts EDO surgery at Westmead Private Hospital.


The Ramsay Way - 2016 Edition 2
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