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Yale-New Haven Hospital news release
Release date: October 12, 2005
Media contact: Mark D'Antonio, (203) 688-2493

Yale-New Haven surgeon records pioneering cardiothoracic work in Scientific American

Yale-New Haven Hospital's chief of cardiothoracic surgery, John Elefteriades, MD, has published an article in Scientific American magazine describing how one woman's near fatal aneurysm over a decade ago has benefited countless other patients with thoracic aortic aneurysms.

When New York artist Carmela Kolman first met Yale-New Haven surgeon John Elefteriades, she was near death.

The 32-year-old Yale graduate student was at home enjoying playtime with her two dogs when she suddenly experienced an alarming sensation in her upper body.

"I thought at the time that it was a collapsed lung," said Kolman, who suffers from Marfan's syndrome, an inherited disorder of the connective tissue that tends to produce thoracic aortic aneurysms, dangerous swellings in the upper part of the large artery that carries blood from the heart. "It felt like some organs inside my chest had suddenly split open and I couldn't breathe."

"In Carmela's case, her aorta had actually ruptured and drowned the heart in blood," said John Elefteriades, MD, chief of cardiothoracic surgery at Yale-New Haven Hospital. "It's about 20 times more serious than a heart attack."

In a twist of fate, Kolman's father, a prominent Chicago judge who also had Marfan's, was just two years older than she when he suffered the same condition as his daughter: an aortic dissection. Unfortunately, he did not survive.

"My father died of exactly the same thing that happened to me," said Kolman. "He was 34; I was 32. The difference is his happened in 1964, mine happened in 1993. They could do nothing for him in 1967 but hold his hand until he died."

Kolman was rushed to Yale-New Haven Hospital where a surgical team led by Dr. Elefteriades replaced the weakened part of Kolman's aorta with an artificial vessel made of Dacron, a fabric that is woven into a flexible but sturdy tube. They also traded her damaged aortic valve, which controls the flow of blood as it exits in the heart, for a mechanical version. After the surgery, Kolman was very sick, but she clung to life and improved steadily.

"The speed of getting into surgery, living within two miles of a major medical center and skilled surgeons contributed to my positive outcome," said Kolman.

During her hospitalization, Kolman's husband, John Rizzo, PhD, an economist at the Yale School of Public Health, discovered that he and Dr. Elefteriades shared an interest in clinical outcomes, particularly in patients with aortic disease. Since 1993, Rizzo, who currently serves on the faculty of Stony Brook University, has helped Dr. Elefteriades and his colleagues create what is believed to be the largest database of patients with thoracic aortic aneurysms - more than 3,000 patients and 9,000 images.

"This extensive clinical resource has allowed us to learn more about the behavior of thoracic aortic aneurysms: notably, how fast they grow, how to tell when they are about to become critical and who is most susceptible to them," explained Dr. Elefteriades. "These insights have helped physicians decide when to intervene so as to avert the catastrophic event that brought Carmela to Yale-New Haven that April morning in 1993."

Six months after her surgery, Kolman resumed painting. Although Marfan's syndrome left her with vision in only one eye, Kolman has been a prolific artist since age 3. "My vision and art are intertwined," said Kolman,whose work has been reviewed and/or featured in the New York Times, Modern Painters, Art New England, The New York Daily News, The Columbus Dispatch, and Better Homes and Gardens.

"My still lifes are about painting objects as though you can almost touch them, or pluck them right off the page."

"I know it sounds clichéd, but I feel I've been given a second chance. I'm living my life and every day I'm thankful to be here."

To learn more about the database Drs. Elefteriades and Rizzo have collaborated on for more than 10 years, please call toll free 1.888.700.6543 to request a copy of the article in the August issue of Scientific American.

Reporters: For more information on this release, contact Mark D'Antonio, (203) 688-2493.

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Last revised: October 12, 2005 (mv)

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