Sharon woman praises Heart Institute advanced procedures

A grateful Mary Dawson with cardiothoracic surgeons (from left) Gary C. Marrone, M.D., Chief of Cardiothoracic Surgery, and Ashraf Osman, M.D. Ms. Dawson had two heart valves repaired and an irregular heart beat corrected at Sharon Regional’s Heart Institute.

Mary Dawson is thrilled to not only have her health restored but to have been able to have her heart surgery performed locally at Sharon Regional’s Heart Institute.

“I certainly didn’t want to go to Pittsburgh or Erie,” she recalls of the mid September surgery. “I preferred to have any surgery done close to where I live in Sharon. I had great doctors (cardiothoracic surgeons Gary Marrone, M.D., and Ashraf Osman, M.D.) and great nurses. The doctors sat and talked to me a lot--they explained everything to me. The whole staff made me feel like one of the family.”

“We repaired Ms. Dawson’s mitral and tricuspid heart valves and restored her normal heart rhythm through the Modified Maze procedure, ” explains Dr. Osman.

“Fortunately, Ms. Dawson's heart valves were suitable for repair, rather than replacement with artificial valves,” says Dr. Marrone. “In addition, the Modified Maze procedure corrected her irregular heart rhythm.  If she remains in a normal heart rhythm, she will be able to avoid lifelong Coumadin, a blood thinning medication, with its risks of bleeding and blood clot formation.”

“Ms. Dawson was a good candidate for these advanced heart surgery procedures now being performed at Sharon Regional. Our heart surgery team enjoyed meeting her and taking care of her during her hospital stay.”

Ms. Dawson, 65, a bartender at a Sharon restaurant, was taken to Sharon Regional’s Emergency Care Center in July after experiencing shortness of breath and losing consciousness. Supervision and medications allowed her to delay surgery for a few months. She returned to work in early October a few weeks after surgery.

“I feel so much better and am looking forward to taking less pills in the near future,” Ms. Dawson adds. “I’m very grateful to the surgeons and Sharon Regional.”

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Dr. Marrone and Dr. Osman, members of Cardiothoracic Surgical Specialists, 740 E. State St., Sharon, specialize in coronary artery bypass, valve repair/replacement, lung and chest surgery, and other advanced heart and lung surgery.

For more information or to schedule and appointment, please call 724-983-7200.