Vietnam Veteran Dennis Dubas didn’t expect to survive the year. Instead, he became the first patient to receive a life-saving heart valve procedure at VA Eastern Colorado, one that could improve heart health care for Veterans across the region.
From the rivers of Vietnam to the hills of Colorado
Dubas, 78, served two combat tours in the Navy alongside the Marines.
“I was brown water Navy,” he said. “I operated amphibious landing craft in and out of combat landing zones. We’d land Marines directly on beaches, inland waterways or wherever needed.”
Since his discharge from the Navy, Dubas has lived in Colorado, staying active into his 70s through yardwork, hiking and house projects. When he couldn’t finish hiking a familiar trail, it concerned him.
The hills said something’s wrong
In September 2024, while hiking with his niece, Dubas was suddenly unable to continue. His legs gave out. His breathing became shallow.
“I had to stop and lean against a tree,” he said. “That’d never happened before. I always told myself, if you can’t hike these hills, it’s time to see the doctor.”
His doctors confirmed a case of severe aortic stenosis, a life-threatening heart condition where a heart valve narrows so much that blood can barely pass through. A normal valve opening is about the size of a nickel. Dubas’s was smaller than the tip of a pencil.
A new option at VA Eastern Colorado
His VA care team proposed a minimally invasive procedure called transcatheter aortic valve replacement, or TAVR.
“I needed multiple heart function tests to confirm I could safely undergo the procedure,” said Dubas. “If I couldn’t, they gave me a year, maybe two.”
With TAVR, instead of opening the chest for traditional open-heart surgery, a team of cardiologists and surgeons makes a small cut in the groin and then inserts and guides a new valve to the heart through a major blood vessel.
On April 21, 2025, Dubas became the first Veteran in the region to undergo TAVR at a VA medical center.
Dr. Neel Butala, VA Eastern Colorado’s medical director of structural heart disease, said they performed Dubas’s case successfully thanks to preparation.
“We had more than 20 people on standby—cardiology, cardiac surgery, imaging and anesthesiology—ready in case we had to switch to open-heart surgery,” Butala said. “Thankfully, everything went like clockwork.”
The procedure took about 40 minutes.
“He woke up and said, ‘Doc, I feel great. I can literally see more clearly now,’” Dr. Butala said.
The heart of the story
After surgery, Dubas walked the hallway twice, completely pain-free and without the need for pain medication that evening. Within 24 hours, he was home.
“Before surgery, I could barely get out of a chair,” Dubas said. “Now I’m back on my feet and looking forward to doing my own yardwork again.”
He was deeply touched by the care and support he got from his VA team.
“They made me feel safe,” he said. “I was part of something special. I wasn’t alone.”
A second chance for more Veterans
Dr. Muhammad Aftab, VA Eastern Colorado’s surgical director of structural heart disease and chief of cardiac surgery, said the team has successfully performed several TAVR surgeries within days of the service being available.
“This has changed how we care for Veterans with severe aortic stenosis,” Aftab said. “It wouldn’t be possible without the teamwork between our surgical, cardiology, ICU and nursing teams.”
Dubas agrees.
“I’m alive because of these doctors,” he said. “VA gave me a second chance and my life back.”
Author: nikkiverbeck