Jerry Falwell, Jr. "Blessed to be Alive" after Rare Surgery Suggested by Dr. Ben Carson Repairs Hole in His Heart
David Brody : Oct 3, 2018
CBN News
"I called President Trump late at night before the surgery. He was amazed at what he heard and talked about how great Ben Carson was when it came to the cutting edge in medicine." -Jerry Falwell, Jr.
(Virginia Beach, VA)—[CBN News] Liberty University President Jerry Falwell Jr. revealed today that he recently underwent a rare and new procedure called NobleStitch to repair a hole in his heart. He tells CBN News he's blessed to be alive. (Photo: Jerry Falwell, Jr/via CBN News)
"The doctor who performed the surgery told me that I was very fortunate I had not had a major stroke," Falwell says. "He is the only doctor in the United States who does this procedure and people fly from all over the world to get this rare procedure done."
Dr. James Thompson, the board-certified medical director of Child Cardiology Associates is the only person in the US who has done the procedure. So far, he's done less than 150 of them. Falwell made the surprise announcement with the doctor at his side at Liberty University's College of Osteopathic Medicine. The event was broadcast at Liberty's Convocation, attended by thousands of students.
The NobleStitch procedure was just recently approved by the FDA and essentially allows doctors to stitch up holes in a patient's heart. Currently, the other ways to repair holes in the heart require either open-heart surgery or inserting a large metal umbrella structure in the heart.
"Dr. Ben Carson told me about this revolutionary new procedure when he spoke at Liberty University's medical school graduation back in May," Falwell tells CBN News. "They go in through your groin area and close holes in hearts. The procedure is far superior to the old method because they don't leave any device or plug in the heart."
Dr. Thompson says the problem with metal devices is that blood clots can still form (though rare) because the metal devices can erode or can react to the nickel element inside of them. In NobleStitch, there is no device in the heart so clots can't form and infections can't develop. Put simply, this is a surgical procedure without doing surgery. The stitching mechanism is inserted through the groin area and takes roughly 30 minutes.
Jerry Falwell Jr. has suffered from migraines off and on again for most of his life. In 2016, he revealed that he had two small strokes. His legendary father died of cardiac arrhythmia so Falwell Jr. was clearly at risk.
Everyone is actually born with a hole in their heart. Most openings close on their own a few months after birth. But for roughly one in four people, it never heals completely. Dr. Thompson says it's a potentially serious condition especially for those who have had strokes with no clear cause and may have traditional risk factors too.
Falwell is close with President Trump and in early September, the night before the procedure, he placed a late-night call to the Commander in Chief. "I called President Trump late at night before the surgery. He was amazed at what he heard and talked about how great Ben Carson was when it came to the cutting edge in medicine."
On Wednesday, CBN News did exclusive interviews with Jerry Falwell Jr and Dr. Thompson at Liberty University. You can see a full report on Thursday's "700 Club" and on CBN's "Faith Nation" show Wednesday evening at 6pm ET on the CBN News Channel. Subscribe for free to Breaking Christian News here.