Saving Second Surgery to Repair a Congenital Heart Defect

Funding from donors helped Inova to recruit a Director of the Adult Congenital Heart Center in 2022 to treat more patients like Scott.

Scott Boccia had always been healthy and active. "I was the kid that played every sport possible. I went on to play, and later coach, football, " he says. In his 40s, he was a busy dad to three young kids and an involved youth sports coach. Life was good until he started noticing that he'd become exhausted and dizzy after an elliptical workout or a short sprint.

Scott was diagnosed with a bicuspid aortic valve, a type of congenital heart disease and a structural defect that had been present since birth. In early 2012, Scott had surgery at a non-Inova hospital to replace the damaged valve with a valve made of cow tissue. The surgery went smoothly, and within two months, he was recovered and feeling well "I wish the story ended there, " he says It wasn't that simple.

“I was plugged back into my active lifestyle, but five years later I realized something wasn’t right, ” he says He began feeling tired and short of breath His valve was failing, and he needed surgery to replace it as soon as possible “After hours of research, I selected Dr Collazo, who is an expert in the field of children’s and adult congenital heart disease procedures, ” he says It was a decision that may have saved his life

Scott's surgery was complex. The damage to the valve had put significant stress on his heart. "He was in heart failure, " Dr. Collazo says. He replaced the damaged tissue with a new-generation mechanical valve designed to last a lifetime. The replacement went smoothly, but the stress of the surgery combined with heart failure led fluid to build up in Scott's lungs. His recovery was challenging. “I spent the next 36 days in a hospital bed. I had to relearn how to walk, write and speak, ” he says. Today, Scott is healthy and active, and says he remains grateful that he chose Inova for his second surgery.

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