Letang 'doing well' after making decision to have surgery
The news on Wednesday that Kris Letang underwent surgery to repair a small hole in his heart sounded scary after Letang previously dealt with strokes in both 2014 and 2022.
But the news, really, was nothing but good news. The hole wasn't a new issue, it was the same one doctors discovered over a decade ago after Letang's first stroke. Letang dealt with no symptoms or scare that led to the surgery he underwent this week. It was simply getting around to repairing the issue that Letang and the Penguins have long known about.
The hole is called a patent foramen ovale (PFO) and is between the upper chambers of the heart. Nearly everyone is born with the hole, but for 75% of people, the hole closes itself in infancy, sometimes immediately after birth. For the 25% of people like Letang whose PFO never closed, there is an increased risk of stroke because the hole allows unfiltered blood and potentially clots to pass through and reach the brain.
Even for those 25% of people, the risk of stroke remains relatively low. When someone as young as Letang has a stroke like he did at age 26, doctors will check for a PFO and that's how Letang's was discovered.
Even if someone has a stroke that is believed to be caused by a PFO, the risk of one occurring again still remains low, so the decision to repair it through surgery is not always made. Letang didn't have it surgically repaired a decade ago or after his second stroke in 2022, being advised by doctors that he could continue his career without surgical intervention. But Mike Sullivan said today that the conversation between Letang and the medical staff regarding surgery has been ongoing for "a long period of time now." With Letang dealing with various bumps and bruises at this point and the Penguins just having one more meaningless game on the schedule, it just made sense to end Letang's season now and go through with the surgery.
"Collectively we thought as a group, it made the most sense to have the procedure done at this particular time," Sullivan said. "It isn't anything that caused it. ... This wasn't a reaction to anything from an injury standpoint."
Sullivan was asked why this surgery didn't occur after Letang's first stroke, and he called it a simple matter of "personal choice" for Letang, just as it is for anyone else with a PFO. He didn't divulge any details on why Letang made the choice to delay the surgery, but the decision was his in conjunction with the medical team.
P.O Joseph still lives with Letang. And while he told me that it's "never easy" to hear that someone is having a surgery, Letang's doing just fine, and Joseph seemed totally unworried.
"I had the chance to be with him yesterday and see how he was feeling," Joseph told me. "And it's positive to see him cracking jokes and stuff. There's definitely ups and downs after surgeries, but he was feeling good at home yesterday."
Letang got out of the house today, coming to the UPMC Lemieux Sports Complex before practice.
"He's doing well," Sullivan said. "I mean, the surgery was successful. He's on the mend at this point. You know, it's a four-to-six week recovery time. I think he's pleased that he ultimately made the decision to do it and move by it. So he's doing pretty well under the circumstances."
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Taylor Haase
4:22 pm - 04.16.2025Cranberry, Pa.Letang 'doing well' after making decision to have surgery
The news on Wednesday that Kris Letang underwent surgery to repair a small hole in his heart sounded scary after Letang previously dealt with strokes in both 2014 and 2022.
But the news, really, was nothing but good news. The hole wasn't a new issue, it was the same one doctors discovered over a decade ago after Letang's first stroke. Letang dealt with no symptoms or scare that led to the surgery he underwent this week. It was simply getting around to repairing the issue that Letang and the Penguins have long known about.
The hole is called a patent foramen ovale (PFO) and is between the upper chambers of the heart. Nearly everyone is born with the hole, but for 75% of people, the hole closes itself in infancy, sometimes immediately after birth. For the 25% of people like Letang whose PFO never closed, there is an increased risk of stroke because the hole allows unfiltered blood and potentially clots to pass through and reach the brain.
Even for those 25% of people, the risk of stroke remains relatively low. When someone as young as Letang has a stroke like he did at age 26, doctors will check for a PFO and that's how Letang's was discovered.
Even if someone has a stroke that is believed to be caused by a PFO, the risk of one occurring again still remains low, so the decision to repair it through surgery is not always made. Letang didn't have it surgically repaired a decade ago or after his second stroke in 2022, being advised by doctors that he could continue his career without surgical intervention. But Mike Sullivan said today that the conversation between Letang and the medical staff regarding surgery has been ongoing for "a long period of time now." With Letang dealing with various bumps and bruises at this point and the Penguins just having one more meaningless game on the schedule, it just made sense to end Letang's season now and go through with the surgery.
"Collectively we thought as a group, it made the most sense to have the procedure done at this particular time," Sullivan said. "It isn't anything that caused it. ... This wasn't a reaction to anything from an injury standpoint."
Sullivan was asked why this surgery didn't occur after Letang's first stroke, and he called it a simple matter of "personal choice" for Letang, just as it is for anyone else with a PFO. He didn't divulge any details on why Letang made the choice to delay the surgery, but the decision was his in conjunction with the medical team.
P.O Joseph still lives with Letang. And while he told me that it's "never easy" to hear that someone is having a surgery, Letang's doing just fine, and Joseph seemed totally unworried.
"I had the chance to be with him yesterday and see how he was feeling," Joseph told me. "And it's positive to see him cracking jokes and stuff. There's definitely ups and downs after surgeries, but he was feeling good at home yesterday."
Letang got out of the house today, coming to the UPMC Lemieux Sports Complex before practice.
"He's doing well," Sullivan said. "I mean, the surgery was successful. He's on the mend at this point. You know, it's a four-to-six week recovery time. I think he's pleased that he ultimately made the decision to do it and move by it. So he's doing pretty well under the circumstances."
Want to participate in our comments?
Want an ad-free experience?
Become a member, and enjoy premium benefits! Make your voice heard on the Steelers, Penguins and Pirates, and hear right back from tens of thousands of fellow Pittsburgh sports fans worldwide! Plus, access all our premium content, including Dejan Kovacevic columns, Friday Insider, daily Live Qs with the staff, more! And yeah, that's right, no ads at all!
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