Management professor flown cross country for surgery

POCATELLO –  Jeff Street, a management professor at Idaho State University College of Business, is recovering from a successful heart operation he received in New York on July 9 at Mount Sinai Hospital in New York City.

Street was born with a congenital aortic malfunction, more specifically, a bicuspid aortic valve that is where the heart has two leaflets as opposed to the three a normal heart has. He had already received an operation known as a Ross procedure 23 years ago but a trip to Dr. Benjamin Call at the Portneuf Medical Center showed an aortic aneurysm and a need for immediate operation.

Within a week after the diagnosis, it was determined that no one in the surrounding area was qualified to perform the surgery and his options were limited to either Los Angeles, New York City or Cleveland. A couple days after Street was informed of his options, he received a call from Dr. Ismail El-Hamamsy at the Mount Sinai hospital in New York. 

“He had a real personable call with me and built up my confidence that he was the right guy for the job,” Street said. “I asked if he thought I could come by myself and he said yes, we will take care of you. They had a great staff that helped me and it was amazing the team effort they put into making this doable for me.”

Street said he had to give a lot of credit to PMC, too. When the problem was discovered, Dr. DeLaRosa moved quickly. 

“Within a few days, we knew what the plan was,” Street said. “They followed up on me while I was in New York and as soon as I was back, they did a check up with me. It was a group effort.”

With the decision made, Street flew to New York and received the life-saving surgery known as a bentall operation from Dr. El-Hamamsy. Five days after the surgery, he was discharged and up and about. After staying for the required 14 days, Street returned to Idaho and is now recovering in his own home.

“I look at everything that happened and it really took a village,” Street said. “It took Pocatello and the greatest city, New York, and it took a combo of those two cities to help me. We dwell on the people doing the bad things but there are so many good people.”

Street's story was featured on national news sites, https://www.foxnews.com/health/cross-country-flight-heart-surgery-success-coronavirus, and internationally https://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-8546011/Grandfather-59-delay-life-saving-heart-surgery-coronavirus-pandemic-nearly-died.html.