Glen Ellyn WWII veteran, 93, pioneers new heart surgery By Justin Kmitch July 12, 2012
So little oxygenated blood was pumping through Anthony “Duff” Hufnagel's clogged aortic valve that simply breathing had become a chore.
In May, doctors gave him less than six months to live.
At age 93, the Glen Ellyn man could beat those odds, though, by undergoing a radical new surgery to replace the heart valve. Doctors said Hufnagel was too old for traditional open heart surgery and suggested the new procedure that runs a catheter through the groin and to the clogged valve.
Hufnagel's surgery consisted of a bovine valve flap being implanted through an artery in his groin using a transcatheter aortic valve replacement, or TAVR, a procedure similar to balloon angioplasty, said Dr. Mark Goodwin, lead cardiologist for Hufnagel's surgery performed at Edward Hospital in Naperville.
