Missouri Baptist Medical Center to offer TAVR replacement

Source：Missouri Baptist Medical Center Release Date：2012-07-05 394

Medical Equipment

Novel transcatheter aortic valve (TAVR) replacement procedure is FDA-approved for use in patients who may be too sick or weak to undergo traditional valve replacement surgery

ST. LOUIS, MO -- Missouri Baptist Medical Center in St. Louis was recently approved to offer transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR), being one of the first centers in the U.S. to offer the procedure.

TAVR is a new heart valve procedure that allows cardiologists and cardiac surgeons to replace diseased aortic heart valves without open-heart surgery. In the procedure, the new valve (Edwards SAPIEN) is placed through a small incision in the groin. It is FDA-approved for use in patients who may be too sick or weak to undergo traditional valve replacement surgery.

"In our first week, we performed four procedures using this new approach," said Michael Mauney, M.D., a cardiothoracic surgeon at Missouri Baptist. "Each patient went home within two to four days. This new treatment allows many of our sickest patients the opportunity to enjoy the same improvement in quality of life as those undergoing traditional open aortic valve replacement."

"It feels like nothing happened," said 78-year-old Anderson Daniels, who underwent TAVR in May. "I was up, moving the next day, and I was back to normal right away. It was one of the easiest things I had to go through. I'm so glad I was eligible."

Aortic stenosis, a progressive disease that affects the aortic valve of hearts, affects over 1.5 million people in the U.S. alone. While open-heart aortic valve replacement surgery is still the gold standard for treatment, patients with high risk medical conditions may not be eligible for surgery. Mr Daniels was one of those patients.

"I always had shortness of breath," Mr Daniels said, "but I ignored it. I thought it was just part of getting older. So when I had my heart checked and was told I needed a valve replaced, you can imagine my surprise. It was scary."

Dr. Mauney told Mr Daniels about the TAVR procedure, and they both agreed it was the best option. "I don't get short of breath anymore because my valve isn't blocked anymore," he said. "It really feels like nothing happened, I'm just back to normal."

Nike Air Max Plus TN