Novant Health’s Role in Surgical Care Across North Carolina

Successful surgery can do more than solve a medical problem—it can give someone their life back. At Novant Health, transformations like that happen every day across North Carolina, led by surgical teams combining advanced skill with deep commitment to their patients. The results can be measured not only in charts and scans but also in the way people move forward after surgery.

Life-Changing Care

It was in the middle of the night when a sudden, blinding pain brought Jonathan to his knees—a ruptured brain aneurysm that left no time to spare. At Novant Health Forsyth Medical Center, neurosurgeons and a team of specialists moved quickly, threading a catheter into his brain to seal the vessel and halt the bleeding.

“The damaged vessel had to be sacrificed to save his life,” said Dr. Mitch Hargis. The decision brought challenges but ultimately gave Jonathan the chance to recover.

He spent 42 days in the hospital, followed by months of therapy to rebuild strength and coordination. Today, he’s walking on his own, back at work, and making the most of time with his family—time the surgery helped him keep.

Epilepsy Breakthroughs

By the time he turned 14, Zac had been living with epilepsy for a decade. The Charlotte-area teen tried multiple anti-seizure medications, but they kept coming. A vagus nerve stimulator shortened the seizures length but not their frequency.

At Novant Health Hemby Children’s Hospital, pediatric neurosurgeons offered another option: surgery to remove the damaged brain tissue causing his seizures. “I was scared he’d lose memory, function—that he wouldn’t be the same Zac,” said his mother, Natalie Hullander. “But Dr. Kiehna said Zac would feel better without that damaged tissue in his brain.”

The six-hour procedure went exactly as planned. “Right after he woke, I knew he was just Zac,” Hullander said. “Brain surgery sounds like a big, scary thing, but it wasn’t. It was truly a blessing.”

Leading-Edge Capabilities

By early 2024, Karen Powell’s entire world had shrunk. The Wilmington grandmother of five was winded after simple chores, and even on good days she felt terrible. Medications and a pacemaker had helped for years, but their effect had faded.

When a transplant evaluation ruled her out because of age, diabetes, and having only one kidney, her team at the Novant Health Heart & Vascular Institute suggested another path: a Barostim implant—a small device designed to help the heart pump with less strain.

That November, she underwent the procedure at Novant Health New Hanover Regional Medical Center. The change was immediate. “I just continue to feel better and better,” Powell said. “It’s like a miracle has happened to me.”

See How Novant Health Transforms Lives 

Across North Carolina, Novant Health’s surgical teams help patients of all ages move forward—whether surviving a medical emergency, overcoming a chronic condition, or finding new hope through advanced technology. The stories are different, but the mission is the same: expert care, close to home, when it matters most.

Learn more at novanthealth.org.

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