Carnesale awaits heart surgery
By Shaun Bishop
Dec. 11, 2005 9:00 p.m.
Chancellor Albert Carnesale is scheduled to undergo open heart
surgery Tuesday to correct a heart valve condition, a procedure
characterized by a veteran cardiologist as relatively low-risk for
a healthy person.
The surgery, an aortic heart valve replacement set to take place
at the UCLA Medical Center, is expected to last several hours.
In a Dec. 2 interview, Carnesale said the valve narrowing was a
“congenital condition” discovered eight years ago
during his first physical at UCLA and has slowly worsened during
his years as chancellor.
The procedure will be performed about three months after
Carnesale, 69, announced in September his plans to step down from
his position at the end of the school year.
He said the need to have the surgery was not revealed until his
October physical this year ““ more than a month after he made
the decision to step down ““ and says the condition was not a
factor in his decision.
The chancellor said he is otherwise in good health and that now
was simply the right time for him to have the surgery.
“It’s clearly time to do it, and you want to do it
before there are any symptoms,” Carnesale said.
“I’m actually asymptomatic. I mean, I’m healthy
and energetic and the like. But in order to be sure that your
health remains excellent, it’s time to get this
replaced.”
Carnesale emphasized that while it wasn’t vital that the
surgery was done soon, he wanted to avoid waiting until symptoms
were present.
“For example, you don’t want the symptom to be a
heart attack,” he said. “I have literally none that
usually reveal this condition.”
Dr. Peter Guzy, who has been a cardiologist at the UCLA Medical
Center since 1976, said aortic valve replacement has a low rate of
complications, provided the patient is not affected by other risk
factors.
“For somebody who’s otherwise in good health,
regardless of their age, you’re probably talking at most a 4
to 5 percent chance” of complications, Guzy said.
Guzy stressed that while the risk of the surgery does increase
with age, surgeons also consider other conditions such as diabetes,
kidney problems or lung disease. He also said the need for the
surgery is
usually revealed when a patient has other symptoms, which can
include dizziness, shortness of breath and chest pain.
Carnesale said he saw the upcoming winter break as a good
opportunity to have the surgery without affecting his duties as
chancellor.
“I’m able to do it in a way that’s quite
consistent with my responsibilities,” he said.
University spokesman Lawrence Lokman said the impact on the
daily operation of the university would be “minimal to
none” since Carnesale is expected to be in the hospital for
less than a week.
Carnesale expects to be able to return to his duties as
chancellor after winter break, but notes that he will try not to
overexert himself during his recovery.
“I can do anything but probably shouldn’t do
everything,” he said.
Guzy said it is typical for patients to walk on their own four
to five days after the procedure and to leave the hospital after
six or seven days. He said a full recovery usually takes two to
three months.
Carnesale said he has had arthroscopic knee surgery but has
never had heart surgery.
Check the Daily Bruin Web site later this week for
updates.
