History has been made at the King Edward VII Memorial Hospital by one of the latest additions to the local medical community.

Surgeon Dr. James Brockenbrough performed two operations -- never before carried out in Bermuda -- in the newly-completed operating theatres on June 29.

The first operation was on a young Bermudian woman who had a history of blood clots moving from her legs to her lungs.

It involved placing a filter in her leg to block the clots and prevent them going to the lungs.

The woman's condition, which can be life threatening, is known as Pulmonary Embolus and is usually treated with blood thinners, but the therapy was not working with her.

"This patient could not adequately thin her blood as an outpatient, so she suffered reoccurring bouts of Pulmonary Embolus,'' Dr. Brockenbrough explained. "I inserted a filter which can be positioned from a small neck or leg incision -- in this case a leg incision.

"The patient was awake during the procedure and under local anaesthesia.'' The device -- known as inferior vena cava filter -- eliminates the possibility of a fatal episode by blocking the clots "similar to an umbrella''.

The same day as the young woman's operation, Dr. Brockenbrough made history again by performing stroke preventative surgery on an 80-year-old.

The procedure, called carotid endarterectomy, cleaned out the carotid artery -- the major blood supplier which runs from the neck to the brain.

Disease in this artery can be responsible for about 80 percent of strokes.

"These types of strokes are primarily caused by impairment of the blood flow to the brain,'' he added.

He said strokes related to carotid artery disease could be prevented by operating directly on the artery itself.

"This is done through a short incision, opening the artery and cleaning it out,'' Dr. Brockenbrough explained. "In short doing a roto-rooter-like procedure on the artery.'' Both patients of the history-making operations came through their respective surgeries with flying colours.

Dr. Brockenbrough said the procedures, already performed elsewhere, would now be done in Bermuda when necessary.

Bermuda's latest surgeon moved to the Island permanently last August from Philadelphia.

MEDICAL HISTORY -- Dr. James Brockenbrough HEALTH HTH