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An undated photo of Sergei Massaev and Dr. Scott Schubach...

An undated photo of Sergei Massaev and Dr. Scott Schubach Scott, MD, Chairman of the Department of Thoracic & Cardiovascular Surgery at Winthrop-University Hospital. Credit: Handout

Thousands of miles and time zones away from his native Russian city near the border with Finland, 19-year-old Sergei Massaev is taking tiny, unaided steps in New Hyde Park, strengthening his heart and thanking the American doctors who rescued him from a deadly heart malady.

Four times in his short life Massaev has come within a whisper of death, the result of a congenital heart defect known as aortic valve stenosis. The condition is characterized by extreme narrowing of the valve between the heart's left ventricle and the aorta, making it tough for the heart to do its job.

Doctors at Winthrop-University Hospital in Mineola last month performed surgery - Massaev's fourth - to replace his malfunctioning valve with a new, high-tech mechanical one. The surgery, they predict, will help add decades to the teenager's life.

Speaking in Russian through a translator, Massaev said he has a genuine understanding of the American holiday, Thanksgiving, and is grateful to the doctors who saved his life. "It was obvious to me that apart from being very professional, everyone truly cared about me." He will return to Petrozavodsk in a few weeks after recovering at the Ronald McDonald House in New Hyde Park.

Dr. Scott Schubach, Winthrop's chief of thoracic and cardiovascular surgery, who with the others donated his services, said it wasn't the operation that made Massaev's case special, but the efforts of Massaev's family and the Sea Cliff-based nonprofit organization, Russian Gift of Life, which brought the teen and his father, Oleg, to the United States.

"His initial story starts around age 2 in Russia where he had some kind of heart procedure, we're not really sure what kind," Schubach said. "From what I can determine it was probably for some kind of obstruction."

Whatever the operation was, by age 9 Sergei was near the brink of death, his aortic valve so narrowed his heart could barely supply his body with blood. Russian Gift of Life brought the Massaevs to the United States; Sergei underwent surgery at New York University Medical Center, performed by Dr. Stephen Colvin, who pioneered several heart operations. But Sergei's condition later worsened and he returned to the United States for a second operation, which Colvin also performed.

This year, his condition was so deteriorated that Massaev's parents again reached out to Russian Gift of Life. Colvin had died two years ago and Schubach, who had trained under Colvin, then donated his services.

"Winthrop pulled out all the stops to make sure he pulled through," said Michael Yurieff of Russian Gift of Life.

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