Lauren is Back on the Soccer Field After PTE Surgery Saved Her Life

When Lauren was a little girl, soccer was everything. 
 
Years of hard work on the field led to a college roster spot and the opportunity to continue pursuing the game she loved. Then, seemingly overnight, she could barely get out of bed.  

“I had multiple blood clots that were causing an almost 100% blockage of a major area of my lungs,” says the former King’s College soccer player, who started noticing symptoms just before her senior year. “I had a hard time recovering from our preseason fitness test. I couldn’t breathe, I was in pain, and I couldn’t sleep or lie down.” 

Lauren was in the ICU for a week, and doctors performed two procedures to try to remove the blood clots, but both were unsuccessful because the clots were hardened and unable to be removed. Three months of blood thinners didn’t help, and she couldn’t even run a quarter of a mile without becoming extremely short of breath. Before, she could easily run three miles a day.   

But everything changed when Lauren started seeing Anjali Vaidya, MD, FACC, FASE, FACP, Director of the Advanced Pulmonary Hypertension, Right Heart Failure & CTEPH Program at Temple University Hospital. 

“She and her team had me do a full day of testing,” Lauren remembered. “That included CT scans, a VQ scan, bloodwork, an echocardiogram, a chest X-ray, and a cardiopulmonary exercise test.”  

From the beginning, there was a special connection between Lauren and her family and Dr. Vaidya. “After that first appointment, I called my husband and told him we’d found the perfect doctor,” said Lauren’s mom, Brenda. “She made us feel so comfortable, and I knew Lauren was in the best hands.” 

After reviewing her test results, Dr. Vaidya and her team recommended Lauren undergo a pulmonary thromboendarterectomy (PTE): a surgical procedure to remove blood clots in the lungs. 

“The VQ scan showed that a significant portion of one of Lauren’s lungs wasn’t receiving blood flow,” Brenda said. “Because she was so physically fit, her body was compensating for her daily activities, but Dr. Vaidya let us know that could change. Lauren wasn’t going to get better without surgery.” 

A Pioneering Procedure and World-Class Care 

Lauren’s PTE surgery was performed in August 2024 by Yoshiya Toyoda, MD, PhD, Chief of Cardiovascular Surgery at Temple University Hospital. 

“He was just an expert in his field,” Brenda says of Dr. Toyoda. “We learned that Lauren was Temple’s 453rd PTE surgery, and that only one other hospital in the country does more of these procedures.” 

“Temple Heart & Vascular Institute has taken care of more CTEPH patients than almost any other hospital in the world,” Dr. Vaidya said. “We’re uniquely experienced in being able to recognize and diagnose CTEPH.” 

Back to Doing the Things She Loves 

Lauren’s surgery was a success—so much so that, only three months later, she was cleared to start running and exercising. On New Year’s Eve, she even ran a 5K with her dad. And less than a year later, she was chosen to throw out the first pitch at a Phillies game.   

“Her disease is cured,” Dr. Vaidya explains. “She has normal cardiac function and a normal quality of life, and she doesn’t need any oxygen.” 

That’s certainly been the case for Lauren, who—in addition to taking the pitcher’s mound at Citizens Bank Park—played in her first soccer game since her diagnosis during her college’s Alumni Weekend a few months later.  

“If it weren’t for the Temple CTEPH team, I wouldn’t be able to do the things I love every day,” she says.