JOPLIN, Mo. – A trio of Freeman Health System interventional cardiologists were in high spirits as the 250th Watchman® implant procedure was successfully completed at Freeman Heart & Vascular Institute earlier this week.

Freeman Drs. Darwin Jeyaraj, Vigyan Bang, and Ryan Longnecker posed for a picture on February 6 to celebrate this rare milestone. Later, the three doctors and staff shared a “Watchman” cake.

Dr. Jeyaraj noted that the 250 number was a “big one.”

Freeman is the first hospital in the Joplin area to provide the Watchman implant, a device for patients who are at high risk for stroke and have atrial fibrillation not caused by a heart valve problem and need an alternative to blood thinners. Atrial fibrillation is a condition millions of Americans deal with every year, and the largest risk with this arrythmia is stroke

To prevent strokes caused by blood clots escaping from a small pouch inside the heart, the Watchman implant is inserted via tube up through the femoral artery and placed into the left atrial appendage of the heart. It’s in this area of the heart 90 percent of strokes result from atrial fibrillation. Over time, as new skin grows over the device, the pouch’s dangerous opening is effectively sealed shut.

The first minimally invasive Watchman surgery was successfully completed at Freeman in early 2020. Although Dr. Jeyaraj performed the actual 250^th impact surgery on February 6, all three Freeman cardiologists perform roughly an equal amount of Watchman surgeries.

“We currently do the surgeries with conscious sedation, which means there is no anesthesia involved,” Dr. Jeyaraj said. “Most of the patients get to go home the same day. It’s usually a six-hour stay at the hospital.”