{"id":26638,"date":"2019-09-27T07:39:46","date_gmt":"2019-09-27T13:39:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.uchealth.org\/today\/?p=26638"},"modified":"2026-04-02T15:07:55","modified_gmt":"2026-04-02T21:07:55","slug":"tcar-surgery-clears-carotid-artery-reduces-stroke-risk","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.uchealth.org\/today\/tcar-surgery-clears-carotid-artery-reduces-stroke-risk\/","title":{"rendered":"TCAR: Surgery clears carotid artery, reduces stroke risk"},"content":{"rendered":"<div style=\"margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px;\" class=\"sharethis-inline-share-buttons\" ><\/div><p>Gary Hall climbed onto the roof of his home last summer to clean out the gutters on what was a typical, dry 101-degree day in Pueblo, Colorado.<\/p>\n<p>Hall had perched a stepladder on an overhang to reach the gutters near the roofline of his two-story home. Then he passed out.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_26643\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-26643\" style=\"width: 300px\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-26643\" src=\"https:\/\/uchealth-wp-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2019\/09\/25084337\/gary-hall.jpgtiny.webp\" alt=\"Gary Hall had TCAR surgery to clear his carotid artery.\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" srcset=\"https:\/\/uchealth-wp-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2019\/09\/25084337\/gary-hall.jpgtiny.webp 1200w, https:\/\/uchealth-wp-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2019\/09\/25084337\/gary-hall.jpgtiny-300x225.webp 300w, https:\/\/uchealth-wp-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2019\/09\/25084337\/gary-hall.jpgtiny-1024x768.webp 1024w, https:\/\/uchealth-wp-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2019\/09\/25084337\/gary-hall.jpgtiny-768x576.webp 768w, https:\/\/uchealth-wp-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2019\/09\/25084337\/gary-hall.jpgtiny-150x113.webp 150w, https:\/\/uchealth-wp-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2019\/09\/25084337\/gary-hall.jpgtiny-200x150.webp 200w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-26643\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Gary Hall had TCAR surgery at UCHealth Memorial Hospital to clear a clogged carotid artery. Photo: UCHealth.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>\u201cI blacked out and I didn\u2019t even know I fell. I had no idea. I woke up laying on top of the ladder and that hurt. I was looking up at the sky,\u2019\u2019 Hall said.<\/p>\n<p>His wife, Nancy Hall, thought her diabetic husband had passed out because he had not eaten and was overheated.<\/p>\n<p>A former soldier who had received a Purple Heart after he was wounded in Vietnam, Hall turned to his doctor at the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.va.gov\/health\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">VA<\/a> Medical Center in Aurora. She ordered a bunch of tests, an EKG, echocardiogram, CT scan and a stress test.<\/p>\n<p>Tests showed that the reason Hall passed out had nothing to do with Pueblo\u2019s hot sun. His left carotid artery was blocked 100 percent; the right side was 55 percent closed. Hall wasn\u2019t getting enough blood to his brain. His doctor at the VA recommended that Hall go see <a href=\"https:\/\/www.uchealth.org\/provider\/magdiel-trinidad-hernandez-md-vascular-surgery\/\">Dr. Magdiel Trinidad-Hernandez<\/a>, a vascular surgeon at <a href=\"https:\/\/www.uchealth.org\/locations\/uchealth-memorial-hospital-central\/\">UCHealth Memorial Hospital Central<\/a> in Colorado Springs and an expert in cleaning out carotid arteries that are clogged with calcium or cholesterol &#8212; plaque that can break off, travel to the brain and cause a stroke.<\/p>\n<p>Trinidad-Hernandez proposed a new minimally invasive Trans-Carotid Artery Revascularization (TCAR) surgery for Hall. Essentially, it\u2019s a new method for placing a stent in a carotid artery that reduces the risk of stroke.<\/p>\n<p>Hall\u2019s surgery began with surgical prep followed by anesthesia. Trinidad-Hernandez, the first surgeon in Colorado to do the surgery, then made a one-inch incision at Hall\u2019s neckline, just above the clavicle. He then inserted a tube-shaped device into the carotid artery to temporarily reverse blood flow to protect from plaque coming loose and traveling to the brain. The procedure itself took about an hour.<\/p>\n<p>In the United States, three of every four strokes originates from trouble within the carotid artery, which is about a centimeter in diameter, though the size varies in men and women.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe carotid artery splits in two at the level between your Adam\u2019s apple and your jaw,\u2019\u2019 Trinidad-Hernandez said. \u201cOne goes straight up into your brain and the other one feeds your thyroid, neck and your face. And right there, at that juncture, that\u2019s where the buildup of calcium and cholesterol happen and that\u2019s why if it breaks off there, it is a straight shot to the brain.\u2019\u2019<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_26644\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-26644\" style=\"width: 300px\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-26644\" src=\"https:\/\/uchealth-wp-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2019\/09\/25084528\/garyhallcropped.jpgtiny.webp\" alt=\"Gary Hall and his wife, Nancy Hall, in the back yard of their Pueblo home.\" width=\"300\" height=\"141\" srcset=\"https:\/\/uchealth-wp-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2019\/09\/25084528\/garyhallcropped.jpgtiny.webp 1200w, https:\/\/uchealth-wp-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2019\/09\/25084528\/garyhallcropped.jpgtiny-300x141.webp 300w, https:\/\/uchealth-wp-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2019\/09\/25084528\/garyhallcropped.jpgtiny-1024x480.webp 1024w, https:\/\/uchealth-wp-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2019\/09\/25084528\/garyhallcropped.jpgtiny-768x360.webp 768w, https:\/\/uchealth-wp-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2019\/09\/25084528\/garyhallcropped.jpgtiny-150x70.webp 150w, https:\/\/uchealth-wp-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2019\/09\/25084528\/garyhallcropped.jpgtiny-200x94.webp 200w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-26644\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Gary Hall and his wife, Nancy Hall, at their Pueblo home. Photo: UCHealth.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Hall spent a day in the hospital, far less time than he did after he was injured in Vietnam in the early 1970s.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThere was a big explosion outside of a bunker; they actually hit the bunker and it blew up and 11,000 rounds of C-4 went off. I hit my head, so it blew and I got a face full of dirt and it burned my eyes and burned my ear off.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI probably got a scar and I spent three or four days in the field hospital. They couldn\u2019t get us out. Then three or four days later, I remember looking up when they took the bandages off, and I tell you what, I remember looking up and looking up and things were kind of out of focus.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAnd finally, I saw the doctor\u2019s eyes and I said, \u2018Your eyes are blue.\u2019<\/p>\n<p><strong><div class=\"su-callout-box col-xs-6 col-sm-6 right\" style=\"background-color:#dce4e7; color:#2e3b44;\"><\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Who should have a screening ultrasound?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Dr. Magdiel Trinidad-Hernandez recommends patients over the age of 50 have a screening ultrasound to detect carotid artery disease if:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>One or both of your parents has had a stroke<\/li>\n<li>You smoke or previously smoked<\/li>\n<li>Anyone who has coronary or heart disease<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<p>Relieved that he could see, Hall returned to the United States. He went on to live throughout the country in Long Beach, California; Denver; Arkansas and Texas and Alaska.<\/p>\n<p>He and his wife, a manager for the Red Cross in Alaska at the time, vacationed all over the world. After one trip to Santiago, Chile, Nancy returned to work in Alaska. Hall went on to Argentina and two weeks later called Nancy: \u201cHoney, I bought a vineyard.\u2019\u2019<\/p>\n<p>He had 50 acres with 25 of them producing grapes for a wine maker. A man who operated the village\u2019s water system lived across the street and helped water the bonarda, shiraz, Malbec and cabernet grapes.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe water would come down the ditch once a week. For our household water, we\u2019d divert it to a concrete underground cistern and fill it. We\u2019d get 24 hours of water down that ditch every week to water the house and the 25 acres of grapes,\u2019\u2019 he said.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_26649\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-26649\" style=\"width: 186px\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-26649\" src=\"https:\/\/uchealth-wp-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2019\/09\/25093623\/Capture.PNGtrinidad.webp\" alt=\"photo of Dr. Trinidad-Hernandez\" width=\"186\" height=\"248\" srcset=\"https:\/\/uchealth-wp-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2019\/09\/25093623\/Capture.PNGtrinidad.webp 186w, https:\/\/uchealth-wp-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2019\/09\/25093623\/Capture.PNGtrinidad-113x150.webp 113w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 186px) 100vw, 186px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-26649\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Dr. Magdiel Trinidad-Hernandez<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>When Trinidad-Hernandez, the first to do the TCAR surgery in Colorado, talked to him about the importance of proper flow in his carotid, Hall immediately understood.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe thing with atherosclerosis, which is a fancy word for hardening of the arteries because of buildup of cholesterol or calcium in the blood vessel, is it happens throughout your whole body. If the pipes in your house get rusty, you have rust at the kitchen sink or in the basement, you usually have rusty pipes through the whole house,\u2019\u2019 Trinidad-Hernandez said.<\/p>\n<p>He said that most people who present with carotid artery disease have no symptoms.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cUp to a third of patients, their first symptom is a stroke,\u2019\u2019 Trinidad-Hernandez said. \u201cCarotid artery disease is very easily detected with a screening ultrasound. It takes only a few minutes.\u2019\u2019<\/p>\n<p>Hall said that when he met Trinidad-Hernandez, he immediately was impressed.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_26645\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-26645\" style=\"width: 300px\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-26645\" src=\"https:\/\/uchealth-wp-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2019\/09\/25084731\/garyhall6.webp\" alt=\"Gary Hall, a veteran, photographed in front of an American flag at his Pueblo home.\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" srcset=\"https:\/\/uchealth-wp-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2019\/09\/25084731\/garyhall6.webp 1333w, https:\/\/uchealth-wp-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2019\/09\/25084731\/garyhall6-300x225.webp 300w, https:\/\/uchealth-wp-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2019\/09\/25084731\/garyhall6-1024x768.webp 1024w, https:\/\/uchealth-wp-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2019\/09\/25084731\/garyhall6-768x576.webp 768w, https:\/\/uchealth-wp-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2019\/09\/25084731\/garyhall6-150x113.webp 150w, https:\/\/uchealth-wp-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2019\/09\/25084731\/garyhall6-200x150.webp 200w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-26645\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Gary Hall, a veteran, outside his home in Pueblo. Photo: UCHealth.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>\u201cHe just seemed to be a step ahead. He walked in and we noticed he was younger than all of our children,\u2019\u2019 Hall said with a chuckle. \u201cThose are the ones who know the latest things, and we had a good connection between UCHealth and the VA.\u2019\u2019<\/p>\n<p>After the operation, Hall said he felt better. He\u2019s back to spending his days having morning coffee with friends and tinkering around the house. He goes fishing on occasion and then heads for the hills to gamble.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI go up to Cripple Creek every now and then. I win a dollar, lose two,\u2019\u2019 he said.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Gary Hall climbed onto the roof of his home last summer to clean out the gutters on what was a typical, dry 101-degree day in Pueblo, Colorado. Hall had perched a stepladder on an overhang to reach the gutters near the roofline of his two-story home. Then he passed out. \u201cI blacked out and I [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":20,"featured_media":26643,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_relevanssi_hide_post":"","_relevanssi_hide_content":"","_relevanssi_pin_for_all":"","_relevanssi_pin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_unpin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_include_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_exclude_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_no_append":"","_relevanssi_related_not_related":"","_relevanssi_related_posts":"","_relevanssi_noindex_reason":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[1046,3512,4097,9167,869,2786],"class_list":["post-26638","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-innovative-care","tag-health-screening","tag-heart-and-vascular-care-cardiovascular","tag-preventive-care","tag-specialized-services","tag-stroke-care","tag-uchealth-memorial-hospital-central"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v27.4 (Yoast SEO v27.4) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>TCAR: Surgery clears carotid artery, reduces stroke risk - UCHealth Today<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Gary Hall&#039;s carotid artery was 100 percent clogged. He had an innovative TCAR surgery at UCHealth Memorial Hospital Central in Colorado Springs.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.uchealth.org\/today\/tcar-surgery-clears-carotid-artery-reduces-stroke-risk\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"TCAR: Surgery clears carotid artery, reduces stroke risk\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Gary Hall&#039;s carotid artery was 100 percent clogged. He had an innovative TCAR surgery at UCHealth Memorial Hospital Central in Colorado Springs.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.uchealth.org\/today\/tcar-surgery-clears-carotid-artery-reduces-stroke-risk\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"UCHealth Today\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/uchealthorg\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2019-09-27T13:39:46+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-04-02T21:07:55+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/uchealth-wp-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2019\/09\/25084337\/gary-hall.jpgtiny.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Erin Emery, UCHealth\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@uchealth\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@uchealth\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Erin Emery, UCHealth\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"6 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.uchealth.org\\\/today\\\/tcar-surgery-clears-carotid-artery-reduces-stroke-risk\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.uchealth.org\\\/today\\\/tcar-surgery-clears-carotid-artery-reduces-stroke-risk\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Erin Emery, UCHealth\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.uchealth.org\\\/today\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/f989ee92cb6da7cfb7f697db1c6771b3\"},\"headline\":\"TCAR: Surgery clears carotid artery, reduces stroke risk\",\"datePublished\":\"2019-09-27T13:39:46+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-04-02T21:07:55+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.uchealth.org\\\/today\\\/tcar-surgery-clears-carotid-artery-reduces-stroke-risk\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":1144,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.uchealth.org\\\/today\\\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.uchealth.org\\\/today\\\/tcar-surgery-clears-carotid-artery-reduces-stroke-risk\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/uchealth-wp-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/6\\\/2019\\\/09\\\/25084337\\\/gary-hall.jpgtiny.webp\",\"keywords\":[\"Health screening\",\"Heart and vascular care\",\"Preventive care\",\"Specialized services\",\"Stroke care\",\"UCHealth Memorial Hospital Central\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Innovative care\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.uchealth.org\\\/today\\\/tcar-surgery-clears-carotid-artery-reduces-stroke-risk\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.uchealth.org\\\/today\\\/tcar-surgery-clears-carotid-artery-reduces-stroke-risk\\\/\",\"name\":\"TCAR: Surgery clears carotid artery, reduces stroke risk - UCHealth Today\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.uchealth.org\\\/today\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.uchealth.org\\\/today\\\/tcar-surgery-clears-carotid-artery-reduces-stroke-risk\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.uchealth.org\\\/today\\\/tcar-surgery-clears-carotid-artery-reduces-stroke-risk\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/uchealth-wp-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/6\\\/2019\\\/09\\\/25084337\\\/gary-hall.jpgtiny.webp\",\"datePublished\":\"2019-09-27T13:39:46+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-04-02T21:07:55+00:00\",\"description\":\"Gary Hall's carotid artery was 100 percent clogged. He had an innovative TCAR surgery at UCHealth Memorial Hospital Central in Colorado Springs.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.uchealth.org\\\/today\\\/tcar-surgery-clears-carotid-artery-reduces-stroke-risk\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.uchealth.org\\\/today\\\/tcar-surgery-clears-carotid-artery-reduces-stroke-risk\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.uchealth.org\\\/today\\\/tcar-surgery-clears-carotid-artery-reduces-stroke-risk\\\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/uchealth-wp-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/6\\\/2019\\\/09\\\/25084337\\\/gary-hall.jpgtiny.webp\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/uchealth-wp-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/6\\\/2019\\\/09\\\/25084337\\\/gary-hall.jpgtiny.webp\",\"width\":1200,\"height\":900,\"caption\":\"Gary Hall had TCAR surgery at UCHealth Memorial Hospital to clear a clogged carotid artery. Photo: UCHealth.\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.uchealth.org\\\/today\\\/tcar-surgery-clears-carotid-artery-reduces-stroke-risk\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.uchealth.org\\\/today\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"TCAR: Surgery clears carotid artery, reduces stroke risk\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.uchealth.org\\\/today\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.uchealth.org\\\/today\\\/\",\"name\":\"UCHealth Today\",\"description\":\"UCHealth Today\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.uchealth.org\\\/today\\\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.uchealth.org\\\/today\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.uchealth.org\\\/today\\\/#organization\",\"name\":\"UCHealth\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.uchealth.org\\\/today\\\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.uchealth.org\\\/today\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/uchealth-wp-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/6\\\/2020\\\/04\\\/24135149\\\/UCHealth-square-logo-1000x1000-1.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/uchealth-wp-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/6\\\/2020\\\/04\\\/24135149\\\/UCHealth-square-logo-1000x1000-1.jpg\",\"width\":1000,\"height\":1000,\"caption\":\"UCHealth\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.uchealth.org\\\/today\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.facebook.com\\\/uchealthorg\\\/\",\"https:\\\/\\\/x.com\\\/uchealth\",\"https:\\\/\\\/www.instagram.com\\\/uchealth\\\/\",\"https:\\\/\\\/www.linkedin.com\\\/school\\\/14839\\\/\",\"https:\\\/\\\/www.pinterest.com\\\/uchealthorg\\\/\",\"https:\\\/\\\/www.youtube.com\\\/channel\\\/UC41SJI79yjZIe96OajzN22g\"]},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.uchealth.org\\\/today\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/f989ee92cb6da7cfb7f697db1c6771b3\",\"name\":\"Erin Emery, UCHealth\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/dcbc519a86e2e2bbb057b69be9251292a18359ac42f269269b20ff261f26358b?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/dcbc519a86e2e2bbb057b69be9251292a18359ac42f269269b20ff261f26358b?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/dcbc519a86e2e2bbb057b69be9251292a18359ac42f269269b20ff261f26358b?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Erin Emery, UCHealth\"},\"description\":\"Erin Emery was a long-time writer and editor UCHealth Today. She also spent years as a reporter for The Denver Post, the Colorado Springs Gazette and the Colorado Springs Sun. Erin was part of a team of Denver Post reporters who won the 2000 Pulitzer Prize for breaking news reporting.\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.uchealth.org\\\/today\\\/author\\\/eemery\\\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"TCAR: Surgery clears carotid artery, reduces stroke risk - UCHealth Today","description":"Gary Hall's carotid artery was 100 percent clogged. He had an innovative TCAR surgery at UCHealth Memorial Hospital Central in Colorado Springs.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.uchealth.org\/today\/tcar-surgery-clears-carotid-artery-reduces-stroke-risk\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"TCAR: Surgery clears carotid artery, reduces stroke risk","og_description":"Gary Hall's carotid artery was 100 percent clogged. He had an innovative TCAR surgery at UCHealth Memorial Hospital Central in Colorado Springs.","og_url":"https:\/\/www.uchealth.org\/today\/tcar-surgery-clears-carotid-artery-reduces-stroke-risk\/","og_site_name":"UCHealth Today","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/uchealthorg\/","article_published_time":"2019-09-27T13:39:46+00:00","article_modified_time":"2026-04-02T21:07:55+00:00","og_image":[{"url":"https:\/\/uchealth-wp-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2019\/09\/25084337\/gary-hall.jpgtiny.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Erin Emery, UCHealth","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@uchealth","twitter_site":"@uchealth","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Erin Emery, UCHealth","Est. reading time":"6 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/www.uchealth.org\/today\/tcar-surgery-clears-carotid-artery-reduces-stroke-risk\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.uchealth.org\/today\/tcar-surgery-clears-carotid-artery-reduces-stroke-risk\/"},"author":{"name":"Erin Emery, UCHealth","@id":"https:\/\/www.uchealth.org\/today\/#\/schema\/person\/f989ee92cb6da7cfb7f697db1c6771b3"},"headline":"TCAR: Surgery clears carotid artery, reduces stroke risk","datePublished":"2019-09-27T13:39:46+00:00","dateModified":"2026-04-02T21:07:55+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.uchealth.org\/today\/tcar-surgery-clears-carotid-artery-reduces-stroke-risk\/"},"wordCount":1144,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.uchealth.org\/today\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.uchealth.org\/today\/tcar-surgery-clears-carotid-artery-reduces-stroke-risk\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/uchealth-wp-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2019\/09\/25084337\/gary-hall.jpgtiny.webp","keywords":["Health screening","Heart and vascular care","Preventive care","Specialized services","Stroke care","UCHealth Memorial Hospital Central"],"articleSection":["Innovative care"],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.uchealth.org\/today\/tcar-surgery-clears-carotid-artery-reduces-stroke-risk\/","url":"https:\/\/www.uchealth.org\/today\/tcar-surgery-clears-carotid-artery-reduces-stroke-risk\/","name":"TCAR: Surgery clears carotid artery, reduces stroke risk - UCHealth Today","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.uchealth.org\/today\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.uchealth.org\/today\/tcar-surgery-clears-carotid-artery-reduces-stroke-risk\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.uchealth.org\/today\/tcar-surgery-clears-carotid-artery-reduces-stroke-risk\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/uchealth-wp-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2019\/09\/25084337\/gary-hall.jpgtiny.webp","datePublished":"2019-09-27T13:39:46+00:00","dateModified":"2026-04-02T21:07:55+00:00","description":"Gary Hall's carotid artery was 100 percent clogged. He had an innovative TCAR surgery at UCHealth Memorial Hospital Central in Colorado Springs.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.uchealth.org\/today\/tcar-surgery-clears-carotid-artery-reduces-stroke-risk\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.uchealth.org\/today\/tcar-surgery-clears-carotid-artery-reduces-stroke-risk\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.uchealth.org\/today\/tcar-surgery-clears-carotid-artery-reduces-stroke-risk\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/uchealth-wp-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2019\/09\/25084337\/gary-hall.jpgtiny.webp","contentUrl":"https:\/\/uchealth-wp-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2019\/09\/25084337\/gary-hall.jpgtiny.webp","width":1200,"height":900,"caption":"Gary Hall had TCAR surgery at UCHealth Memorial Hospital to clear a clogged carotid artery. Photo: UCHealth."},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.uchealth.org\/today\/tcar-surgery-clears-carotid-artery-reduces-stroke-risk\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.uchealth.org\/today\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"TCAR: Surgery clears carotid artery, reduces stroke risk"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.uchealth.org\/today\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.uchealth.org\/today\/","name":"UCHealth Today","description":"UCHealth Today","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.uchealth.org\/today\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.uchealth.org\/today\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/www.uchealth.org\/today\/#organization","name":"UCHealth","url":"https:\/\/www.uchealth.org\/today\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.uchealth.org\/today\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/uchealth-wp-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2020\/04\/24135149\/UCHealth-square-logo-1000x1000-1.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/uchealth-wp-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2020\/04\/24135149\/UCHealth-square-logo-1000x1000-1.jpg","width":1000,"height":1000,"caption":"UCHealth"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.uchealth.org\/today\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/uchealthorg\/","https:\/\/x.com\/uchealth","https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/uchealth\/","https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/school\/14839\/","https:\/\/www.pinterest.com\/uchealthorg\/","https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/channel\/UC41SJI79yjZIe96OajzN22g"]},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.uchealth.org\/today\/#\/schema\/person\/f989ee92cb6da7cfb7f697db1c6771b3","name":"Erin Emery, UCHealth","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/dcbc519a86e2e2bbb057b69be9251292a18359ac42f269269b20ff261f26358b?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/dcbc519a86e2e2bbb057b69be9251292a18359ac42f269269b20ff261f26358b?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/dcbc519a86e2e2bbb057b69be9251292a18359ac42f269269b20ff261f26358b?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Erin Emery, UCHealth"},"description":"Erin Emery was a long-time writer and editor UCHealth Today. She also spent years as a reporter for The Denver Post, the Colorado Springs Gazette and the Colorado Springs Sun. Erin was part of a team of Denver Post reporters who won the 2000 Pulitzer Prize for breaking news reporting.","url":"https:\/\/www.uchealth.org\/today\/author\/eemery\/"}]}},"coauthors":[{"id":20,"name":"Erin Emery","link":"https:\/\/www.uchealth.org\/today\/author\/eemery\/"}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.uchealth.org\/today\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26638","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.uchealth.org\/today\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.uchealth.org\/today\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.uchealth.org\/today\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/20"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.uchealth.org\/today\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=26638"}],"version-history":[{"count":10,"href":"https:\/\/www.uchealth.org\/today\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26638\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":66741,"href":"https:\/\/www.uchealth.org\/today\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26638\/revisions\/66741"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.uchealth.org\/today\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/26643"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.uchealth.org\/today\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=26638"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.uchealth.org\/today\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=26638"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.uchealth.org\/today\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=26638"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}