Elizabeth Kaledin Tells Of First Air Force Pilot To Fly With Artificial Heart Valve

[Mike C]

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2006/08/12/eveningnews/main1890202.shtml

Pilot's Fight To Return To The Skies
Elizabeth Kaledin Tells Of First Air Force Pilot To Fly With Artificial Heart Valve

Willow Grove, Pa., Aug. 12, 2006
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Lt. Col. Tony Carrelli was grounded for 30 months before he and his doctor convinced the Air Force to let him fly again. (CBS)


Quote

"Flying's been — been my life."

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Lt. Col. Tony Carrelli


(CBS) Lt. Col. Tony Carrelli had dreamed of being an Air Force fighter pilot since he was a boy.

And he was living that dream flying A-10 Warthogs for the Pennsylvania Air National Guard.

"Flying's been — been my life," Carrelli told CBS News correspondent Elizabeth Kaledin.

But a few years ago, after a six-month tour of duty in Iraq, he developed an alarming chest pain that could have brought his career to an end.

It turns out Carrelli was a heartbeat away from disaster. He had a badly damaged aortic valve and a hugely swollen blood vessel known as an aneurism.

Dr. Joseph Bavaria of the University of Pennsylvania Health told Kaledin that it was "incredible" that Carrelli flew for six months with the condition and didn't die.

To repair the heart, Dr. Joseph Bavaria used an experimental new valve known as a "Toronto valve" — so much like a natural heart valve that Carrelli wouldn't need a transplant or a lifetime of medication.

But would it allow him to fly again? That was the big question.

The A-10 Warthog is a single person fighter jet and that was the main concern. If anything happened to Carrelli's heart while he was in the cockpit he'd be totally on his own.

Fighter pilots have to be in perfect physical condition — none had ever flown before with any kind of artificial heart valve. But Bavaria knew this technology was good enough to withstand the so called G-forces of fighter jet flight.

But he had to convince the Air Force to let Carrelli fly. "We had to come in and nail it," he said. And, he added, "We nailed it."

After being grounded for 30 months and subjected to a battery of tests, the Air Force finally cleared the way for Carrelli to be the first fighter pilot ever to fly with an artificial valve.

Carrelli's boss calls it a victory for the Air Force.

"It's a win-win for the medical community as well because literally he is — he's better," said Col. Paul Comtois, "The condition that he's in now — he's actually better than what he was."

When Carrelli was asked if he was ready to join the war effort overseas if called, he said, "Absolutely ready to go."

Anyone in doubt just needs to watch Carrelli climb in and take off to know that this is one pilot whose heart is really in his job.

©MMVI, The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

 

[Mary]

Thanks for posting this, Mike.
It's great to hear of his success in rightfully reclaiming a place in his chosen profession!

 

[LUVMyBirman]

Excellent story. Thank you for sharing. Do have a pressing question Really wonder how his disease slipped by the air force in the first place?

 

[Adam T]

It can happen...

It can happen...

Very interesting. This goes along with my experience somewhat. I was enlisted in the Army Reserve before I won a 4-year ROTC scholarship to The Citadel. I completed basic training, AIT, Airborne, and Air Assault school, not to mention 3 years at The Citadel before the Army found my bicuspid valve. The point is, I had A LOT of very thorough physicals. It was not until my 7th(!) Army physical that they caught it. I had never even been told I had a murmer before. I wonder if it just takes awhile to be able to hear a leaky valve in a younger person.

I was discharged and lost the final year of my scholarship. The good news is that I got three years of college paid for and I had something to fall back on.

 

[LUVMyBirman]

Hi Adam,

Thank you for sharing your experience. And yes..you can miss valve disease in absense of an audible murmur. Unless you have an echo...there is no way of knowing for sure. In short...I do know of a young person that was tested because of family history. Valve was abnormal. No reguirg...so no way of detecting. Within 2 years slight reguirg was present. Then it all tied together. In short...unless they can hear it. I can see how it could have been overlooked.

 

[jumpy]

Sorry to bring up such an old thread but does anyone know what a "Toronto Valve" is?

 

[SumoRunner]

read about it here

http://www.ctsnet.org/sections/clinicalresources/adultcardiac/expert_tech-10.html

 

[MarkU]

I was accepted into Navy Aviation Officer Candidate School (AOCS) out of college in 1975 and passed the initial qualifying physicals even with my "murmur" (biscuspid valve).
After I got to Pensacola, the Navy suddenly changed their mind and grounded me because of my heart.
After they formally notified me, the chief flight surgeon met with me privately in his office and told me that the Navy had been slow to cut back their flight training programs when the Vietnam war ended, had more trained aircrew than flying slots available, and they were under orders to dis-qualify anybody they could for medical reasons.
He told me that my valve probably wouldn't cause me any problems until later life and he would have given me a waiver if the war was still going on, although they probably would have limited me to non-ejection seat aircraft.
I had agreed to a 6-1/2 year commitment in order to fly and was technically on the hook to serve a minimum of four years as an officer or two years of enlisted duty to fulfill my commitment if I couldn't complete flight training. The Navy told me they appreciated the fact that I had actually applied while the war was still going on and offered to just let me go home, which I chose to do. They also didn't want me to risk being drafted by the Army, so they also made sure my draft status was changed to 4F.
Mark

 

[Ross]

I was accepted into Navy Aviation Officer Candidate School (AOCS) out of college in 1975 and passed the initial qualifying physicals even with my "murmur" (biscuspid valve).
After I got to Pensacola, the Navy suddenly changed their mind and grounded me because of my heart.
After they formally notified me, the chief flight surgeon met with me privately in his office and told me that the Navy had been slow to cut back their flight training programs when the Vietnam war ended, had more trained aircrew than flying slots available, and they were under orders to dis-qualify anybody they could for medical reasons.
He told me that my valve probably wouldn't cause me any problems until later life and he would have given me a waiver if the war was still going on, although they probably would have limited me to non-ejection seat aircraft.
I had agreed to a 6-1/2 year commitment in order to fly and was technically on the hook to serve a minimum of four years as an officer or two years of enlisted duty to fulfill my commitment if I couldn't complete flight training. The Navy told me they appreciated the fact that I had actually applied while the war was still going on and offered to just let me go home, which I chose to do. They also didn't want me to risk being drafted by the Army, so they also made sure my draft status was changed to 4F.
Mark

While that stinks, and your certainly not the only one, they did similiar to my brother in the Army, how did you feel about leaving and coming home?

 

[SumoRunner]

I was called in the draft in 1966 at a time when they were taking everyone. The Army initially passed me through despite the heart murmur and told me I'd be informed when and where to report the following week. My family doctor also happened to be the local draft board medical adviser and the minute he saw my name on the list, struck it off and sent me a 4F. I never even reached the swearing in. At the time I was already working at the Watervliet Arsenal making big gun tubes, so I spent 5 years working for the Army anyway, just never got in harms way.

 

[Philip B]

Great Story

Great Story

That's a great story! While i never pursued military service, I really wanted to pursue a civilian pilot's license as I was growing up. Unfortunately, when I tried to pass the required physical, the doctor refused to pass me due to my heart mumur. Despite this, the dream and drive to fly never died. I simply pursued another course.

An uncle who had his pilot's license and owned his own plane felt the rules were stupid. He taught me to fly his airplane and gave me permission to use it whenever I wanted. Yeah, it was probably irresponsible and stupid, but I was young and invincible back then.

The desire to fly has never gone away. Now that things are fixed, I've been checking out a local soaring school. I've always loved sailplanes and I may just learn to fly one... legally this time.

-Philip