Two Brothers, Two Triple Bypasses — And the Stony Brook Heart Care Team They Fell in Love With…

Robert and Peter Kaczenski shared a lot when they were kids: a room, a love of stickball (think Brooklyn in the 1950s), trading baseball cards, bowling…

Fast forward about 60 years and it turns out the brothers had something else in common, too — triple coronary artery bypass surgery, ten months apart, at Stony Brook University Heart Institute.

Meet Bob and Pete Kaczenski

Bob: A Surprise Diagnosis

Bob Kaczenski was the first to experience heart trouble. It was around Christmas, 2019, that the Mt. Sinai resident, 71, visited Stony Brook-affiliated cardiologist, John Savino, MD, of Heart Associates of Long Island, to see about some fluid build-up around his heart— the side-effects of a medication unrelated to heart disease.

“I’m sorry, what was that you just said, Dr. Savino,” Bob asked, after the return of some routine tests. “I’d like to take a closer look at your heart with a stress test, Bob,” the doctor repeated. “Just to be on the safe side.”

Bob, a retiree, dad, granddad and married to Demetria (Dimmie), was stunned. “Sure, I’m a few pounds overweight,” he protested to Dimmie. “And my heart rate has spiked when climbing stairs, but, heart disease? I’ve always been athletic and active.”

“True, you are very active, Bob,” responded his wife of 48 years. “But those few pounds are more like 30 or 40 and your diet consists mostly of meat, potatoes, pizza and salt—you even sprinkle salt on your pizza!”

Troubling stress test outcomes next sent Bob to interventional cardiologist Daniel Montellese, MD, also of Heart Associates of Long Island, for more advanced testing and a cardiac catheterization — insertion into the heart of a long, thin diagnostic tube — at the Stony Brook Cath Lab.

Bob figured that, at worst, the cath results might mean losing some of the weight or maybe a stent or two. But when Dr. Montellese asked that Dimmie be called in to join the discussion, he knew the news was probably not good.

The doctor explained that three of Bob’s coronary arteries were significantly blocked and would require bypass surgery — an ‘open-heart’ procedure in which blood is redirected around the affected arteries to reduce the risk of a heart attack.

Bob: Bypass Surgery

Before even leaving the cath lab, the Kaczenski’s had met with Henry Tannous, MD, Co-Director, Stony Brook Heart Institute; Chief, Cardiothoracic Surgery; and General T.F. Cheng Chair, Cardiothoracic Surgery, Renaissance School of Medicine at Stony Brook University, who would be performing Bob’s surgery.

“In truth, I was still reeling from the diagnosis,” admits Bob. “Trust is a big issue with me, but, with Dr. Tannous, as with the cardiologists, within minutes I felt confident I was in the right place with the right people. No stone was left unturned in explaining to Dimmie and me exactly what would be taking place and in answering every one of our questions.”

Surgery had been scheduled for February 4 but when the Heart Institute cardiothoracic clinical care coordinator, Karen  Sanders, RN, learned that the fourth was Bob’s birthday, she had the surgery switched to February 5.

“The anesthesiologist, Jeremy Poppers, MD, was amazing, as well,” smiles Dimmie. “As Bob was going under, Dr. Poppers and the entire surgical team was singing Happy Birthday to him.”

The surgery went off without a hitch and Bob’s stay lasted five days. “The ICU and cardiac unit rooms were large and beautiful and felt more like hotel suites than a hospital,” says Bob. “But it was the kind, patient and knowledgeable nursing staff that really blew me away. Just press a button and someone was there.”

“I was advised it would take six to eight weeks to recuperate, so no heavy lifting or driving. And, then, just like that, a little sore and with a few band-aids on my chest, I was home again.”

Pete: A Surprise Diagnosis

Pete’s heart story picks up about 10 months after Bob’s. Ask Pete, 65, also a father and grandfather and married for 46 years to Barbara, his high school sweetheart, about his heart disease journey, and the first thing he will tell you is, “Let’s put it this way, in the past, on any form that would ask, ‘Do you have a family history of heart disease?’ I would, without hesitation, answer, ‘No.’”

The Port Jefferson owner of a high-tech security firm, had, in early fall 2020, been plagued by what he thought was run-of-the-mill back pain. A chest X-ray was suggested by his primary care physician to make certain there was no infection in his lungs.

It turns out his back and lungs were fine, but the X-ray had detected some calcifications — artery-wall clogging particles — and Pete’s primary care physician advised that he see a cardiologist, ASAP.

Paralleling his brother's experience, cardiologist Peter Bruno, MD, of North Suffolk Cardiology, on reviewing Pete’s stress test, advised, “I don’t at all like what I see.” And Pete’s next stop was at the Stony Brook Cath Lab with Dr. Bruno’s colleague, interventional cardiologist, Neal Patel, MD.

Pete, too, was counseled that he had three dangerously clogged coronary arteries.

Pete: Bypass Surgery

Pete and Barbara met with the surgeon, Dr. Tannous, and the anesthesiologist, Dr. Poppers, whose entire teams Bob and Dimmie were still raving about almost a year later.

Pete's bypass surgery was scheduled for Wednesday, November 18. “Everything went exactly as Dr. Tannous had explained,” says Pete. “I had my surgery on Wednesday morning, woke up on Wednesday evening about 6:30, they had me up and walking on Friday, and, by Monday, the 23^rd, I was out the door and on my way home.”

Back to Being Just Bob and Pete — But with a Mission

Along with regular follow-ups with their doctors, eleven months after Bob’s surgery and one month after Pete’s, the brothers now focus on healthy eating — Bob has lost 36 pounds and counting and Pete, 20 pounds — and, on returning to their ‘normal’: spending time with friends and family, thinking about upcoming golf, fishing and RV outings, and, each will tell you, encouraging everyone they know to learn more about their genetic risk for heart disease and get baseline tested.

“I had seen paperwork a few years back indicating our paternal grandfather had problems with his heart, but our dad didn’t and, in truth, I didn’t give it any more thought than that,” admits Bob. “And while Pete and I experienced shortness of breath and a rapid heartbeat, ticker-trouble red flags, we did not associate those with heart disease. “

“It was just plain dumb luck that kept each of us from finding out the hard way about our heart disease,” says Pete.

Notes Dr. Tannous: “Genetics plays a role and heart disease does run in families, but it’s not just about family history, it’s about your behaviors and lifestyle habits, too. People with a family history of disease may have the most to gain from lifestyle changes and screening tests. When all is said and done, even those who already have developed heart disease, with the right treatment, can get back on track.”

With Love, From the Kaczenski’s

We are not people given to over-the-top praise,” says Dimmie — “And especially not Bob,” adds Pete with a grin — “Well, that’s true, especially not Bob,” smiles Dimmie. “But the generous time, support and collaborative effort provided by the Stony Brook cardiologists, surgeon, anesthesiologist, nurses, physician assistants, residents—everybody — was phenomenal.”

“Where do I begin?” asks Barbara. “They were there for us 24/7. All of us in it together. Words do not do justice to the love and gratitude we have in our hearts for Stony Brook.”

“And a special shout-out goes to the care coordinator, Laurie O’Sullivan, who updated Barbara and me with hourly calls during each of our husband’s surgeries,” shares Dimmie. “It meant the world to know exactly what was going on. Even now, all these months later, Laurie calls to check in on how Bob is doing.”

Bob’s Got the Better Hair…

Their heart-health journey only strengthened the brothers’ already close bond. “Most brothers talk about football, we talk about our scars,” grins Pete. “I’m just glad he’s still here,” admits Bob. “Ditto for me,” says Pete.

And, Bob adds, winking: “Pete may be younger and smarter, but, sorry, Pete, I have the much better hair…”

The Stony Brook Difference

• Stony Brook University Hospital (SBUH) has been named one of America’s 100 Best Hospitals™ for 2021 in coronary intervention and cardiac and stroke care by Healthgrades, the first organization in the country to rate hospital quality based on actual clinical outcomes, placing SBUH in the top two percent of hospitals nationwide.
• Working in close partnership with our high-volume emergency rooms, the Stony Brook Cath Labs evaluate more than 5,000 patients and perform more than 1,500 interventional procedures, annually.
• Testing and treatments are delivered by medical faculty physicians, making Stony Brook the only academic-based facility of its kind in Suffolk County.
• Our Cath Labs offer 24/7 accessibility.