Thank You to Cardiology and the Entire EJGH Staff

East Jefferson General Hospital patient Wayne Solis endured a health scare that had completely compromised his quality of life. Solis now thanks to all the EJGH staff and physicians who worked on his care for turning his health around.

“I have had the opportunity to travel around the world and stay in some really nice hotels,” says Solis. “But, the treatment and attention I received at East Jefferson were beyond wonderful. They made me feel as though I was staying at a Ritz Carlton.”

Drs. Michael Brothers and James McKinnieSolis, now 66 years old, had an extremely active lifestyle. His job kept him busy, and he played in three basketball leagues for exercise. Then he began to notice that even the simplest task would tire him out. That is when he knew he needed to get checked out. With no history of heart disease and after a series of tests, Solis was diagnosed with Atrial Fibrillation (A-Fib), a debilitating condition where the chambers of the heart are out of sync.

“I was in really good shape, so when I was out of breath after getting dressed, I knew something was not right,” says Solis. “It became a chore just to do anything. I was tired all the time.”

Solis had received treatment at a different local facility and was being unsuccessfully treated for blood clots and backed away from any procedure. Solis was then referred to Drs. James McKinnie and Michael Brothers by EJGH cardiologist Roland Bourgeois and internal medicine physician Dr. Robert Jeanfreau. They thought he may be a candidate for a new procedure called Hybrid Convergent. The Convergent procedure is shown to be effective in treating persistent A-Fib. Solis says it took a lot of convincing to try the groundbreaking procedure.

“I remember Dr. Brothers calling me on a Sunday, because I was coming home from an LSU – Ole Miss game in Oxford, Mississippi, and he let me know that a lot of people here at EJGH would be disappointed if I decided not to go ahead with it,” he says. “I knew that I had to try to regain my quality of life.”

Solis had the surgery in November of 2011, becoming one of the first in our area to have this procedure. He is quick to point out that the result was beyond what he expected, both in terms of the success of the procedure and how he and his wife were treated during their time at EJGH.

He says, “It was absolutely fantastic the entire time. The food was great. The treatment was 100 times better than I could have imagined. Today I feel great. My quality of life is now better than it was before the procedure. In fact, it is better since becoming ill in December 2008.”

Solis went on to say that he will always remember watching Dr. McKinnie and Dr. Brothers after the procedure. The results were so good that “Both looked like a kid at Christmas who just got his first bicycle.”