Aortic Valve Replacement Without Open Heart Surgery
South Denver Cardiology Associates in Littleton, Colorado launched their transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) clinic this summer. November 2, 2015 has marked a landmark day in history as SDCA cardiologist Lee MacDonald, MD, Sean Enkiri, MD, and Danielle Henkel, MD are among the few in Denver to successfully repair an aortic valve using the newest Edwards SAPIEN XT valve on a patient at Swedish Medical Center without open heart surgery.
Aortic valve disease is a progressive problem that sometimes requires open heart surgery to fix. Currently, TAVR is for patients at too high risk or high risk for surgery. The new Edwards SAPIEN XT transcatheter aortic valve is a device that is used much like a stent in the heart artery, but instead deployed in the aortic valves place. The TAVR doctors at South Denver Cardiology deploy a catheter in the femoral artery in the groin or through a small incision in the chest, then expand a balloon and with a wire mesh stent type device through the damaged aortic valve, and leave a Bovine (pig) valve in its place eliminating the need for open heart surgery.
Patient who have a TAVR procedure experience shorter hospital stays and recovery time compared to aortic valve replacement open heart surgery. Usually patients are discharged within 3-5 days.
Learn more about South Denver Cardiology at www.southdenver.com
Learn more about the TAVR procedure at www.heart.org.
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