Quick Thinking at St. Luke’s Carbon Campus Saves Man from Rarely Survived Abdominal Aortic Aneurism

Ed Shope of Warminster was at his vacation home in Jim Thorpe last August for a gathering to celebrate his granddaughter's birthday. He had been trying to ignore discomfort in his upper abdomen for a few days when the unthinkable happened.

He passed out. His wife Regina called 911 for an ambulance, which took him to the nearby St. Luke’s Carbon Campus.

Fedaa Jabir, PA-C, a St. Luke’s physician assistant certified in emergency medicine, put him through a complete workup with blood tests and ordered a CT scan.

“I was working the emergency department back in August, and our PA did the heavy lifting with the workup,” said Daniel Plavin, MD, who practices both family medicineat St. Luke’s Jim Thorpe Primary Care and emergencymedicine for St. Luke’s. “He came in with complaints of fainting and abdominal pain, and he did not look good. He was pale, lethargic, in pain, his belly was tender, his blood pressure was low and his respiration was high.”

Dr. Plavin said Ed’s lab work was all over the place, which was a cause forQuickTghinb concern. He took an initial look at the CT scan and suspecteda ruptured abdominal aortic aneurism (AAA), which is often fatal. He immediately got on the phone to get a radiologist to read the CT scan, which confirmed the diagnosis.

The survival rate for a ruptured AAA is very low. About 50% of patients die before even reaching a hospital, and the overall mortality rate is greater than 80%.

Within minutes, a St. Luke’s Life Flight helicopter transported Ed to St. Luke’s University Hospital in Bethlehem, where St. Luke’s vascular surgeon Michael Quqish, MD,performeda noninvasive procedurecalled endovascular abdominal aortic repair (EVAR), which isaccomplished by running a catheter through the femoral vasculature rather than opening up the patient’s abdomen or chest.

After the initial fainting spell, Ed, 66, was awake and relatively cognizant throughout the ordeal, including the surgery.

What he remembers most is “Dr. Plavin stepped up! After they wheeled me back fromthe scan. I remember Dr. Plavin said he wanted to take a look at it, and the next thing he and the PA were running down the hall. He came back and told me a helicopter was en route and would take me to Bethlehem. He saved my life because he expedited the scan to be read by radiology.”

Because the house in Jim Thorpe was just a few minutes from St. Luke’s Carbon Campus, other family members were able to get there to say potential last goodbyes and good luck before the helicopter spirited him away to Bethlehem.

Even though Ed and Regina live in Warminster, they are sold on St. Luke’s care.

“We were so happy with Dr. Plavin and Dr. Qaquish that we will start seeing a St. Luke's cardiologist,” Ed said.

Dr. Plavin was surprised by the couple later on when theywent to his family medicine practice unannounced to offer personal thanks and a heartfelt thank you note:

“Dr. Plavin, you were the start of our beautiful outcome on August 16. Because of your amazing performance and dedication to your profession, you saved Ed’s life. Had you notlooked at his scan and rushed for radiology to read them, the outcome would have been different. For that, we are eternally grateful. Your swift action saved him. I thank God for you. Ed and Regina Shope.”