Healthcare

Marco Aguero Jr.

It doesn’t happen very often, and most likely you can’t recall the last time the Bay Area had the distinction of welcoming the Houston area’s first baby of the year.

Yet, Houston Methodist Hospital Clear Lake welcomed young Marco Aguero Jr., son of Iliana Plata and Marco Sr., into the world just 20 seconds after midnight Jan. 1, 2020 to become not only the first baby born in the Houston area in the new year but the first to arrive in the new decade. Dr. Amit Bansal, a Clear Lake High School graduate and long-time OB/GYN in Pasadena who only recently joined Houston Methodist Obstetrics & Gynecology Associates in Nassau Bay, delivered young Marco.

Pasadena welcomed its first baby of the new year when Alexandra Guadalupe Escobar Guerra was born at HCA Houston Healthcare Southeast at 7:16 a.m. Jan.1. Her mom, Guerra Melgar Nelda Yadira, and dad, Johnathon A. Escobar, were overjoyed with their tiny bundle of joy. Alexandra Guadalupe Escobar Guerra

(FAR LEFT) Pat Berkely, the 100th TAVR patient, standing beside HCA Clear Lake CEO Todd Caliva and the surgeons who perform the surgeries.

(LEFT) Hattie O’Briant, the 1st TALV patient, recuperates at HCA Healthcare Clear Lake.

HCA Houston Healthcare Clear Lake celebrated the completion of its 100th trascatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) surgery with Pat Berkely, the 100th patient, and reunited with its very first patient, Hattie O’Briant.

HCA Houston Healthcare Clear Lake is one of the first hospitals in the Bay Area to provide the minimally invasive alternative to open heart surgery. A relatively new procedure, TAVR replaces damaged aortic valves through a catheter in contrast to open-heart surgery in which surgeons cut open the chest to expose the heart.

“It’s a big deal because now we’re getting the expertise in the community. Before the expertise was only in the Medical Center. Now, with this being in the community, it’s a lot easier for the patients and their families,” says Dr. Pranav Loyalka.

The heart hospital at HCA Houston Healthcare Clear Lake, the only dedicated heart hospital in the Bay Area, performs more than 1,000 heart procedures annually. Its surgeons include Dr. Hannan Chaugle, Dr. Pranav Loyalka, Dr . Snehalkumar Patel, Dr. Bahaeddin Shabaneh, Dr. Ahmad Jeroudi, Dr. Fethi Benraoane, Dr. Molham Aldeiri, Dr. Nadir Ali, Dr. Ghyath Samman, Dr. Ahmed Ahmed, Dr. Kodlipet Dharmashankar, Dr. Gerard Abreo

Both doctors and patients are happy over their experience and how this procedure gave them a new lease on life, hospital officials report. Clear Lake hospital celebrates 100th successful TAVR sur gery

DO NOT IGNORE SIGNS OF VASCULAR DISEASE

The legs may offer the first sign of the presence of peripheral vascular disease (PVD), a narrowing of the blood vessels that can lead to serious health complications.

PVD commonly involves the buildup of plaque in the peripheral arteries (those outside your heart). As the arteries become blocked, they are less able to transport nourishing blood to the legs and other parts of the body. PVD sometimes runs its course silently until the blood vessels become so clogged that treatment is required to avoid permanent damage to the limbs and surrounding tissues. PVD commonly occurs in the legs. Sufferers often complain of a cramping pain called claudication when they walk a particular distance every time. This is a message from your muscles that they’re not getting enough blood flow and oxygen to work properly.

“In addition to claudication, PVD sufferers may also experience a variety of symptoms such as numbness, tingling, or weakness in the legs; foot pain that may awaken the patient from sleep; pale, red, or blue skin discoloration of the extremities or toes; changes in skin temperature; wounds that won’t heal or gangrene; buttock pain; impotence in men; and loss of leg hair,” said Dr. Joseph Naoum, vascular surgeon at Houston Methodist Clear Lake Hospital.

If you are experiencing symptoms of peripheral vascular disease, talk to your primary care doctor or to schedule an appointment with Dr. Naoum, call Houston Methodist Cardiovascular Surgery Associates at 281.523.2363.