Transcatheter Aortic Valve Replacement (TAVR)
Our cardiovascular specialists offer cutting-edge, minimally invasive treatment options for patients with aortic valve damage or disease. One option is transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR), a procedure that replaces the damaged aortic valve without removing it.
With TAVR, the patient is sedated but, in most cases, not under general anesthesia. The new valve is delivered into the heart through a catheter. This catheter is inserted through a needle stick in the leg and threaded through the leg artery to the heart. The new valve is delivered to the inside of the diseased valve by the physician who then inflates a balloon to secure it into place. The damaged valve is not removed – it is simply replaced. No heart-lung machine is necessary, and the heart continues to pump normally throughout the procedure.
TAVR is an excellent option for qualified patients with aortic valve damage or disease because it is a minimally invasive procedure with faster recovery times. A typical hospital stay after traditional heart valve surgery ranges between four to seven days. With TAVR, patients can be discharged home to continue their recovery at home within 24-48 hours and typically experience a significant reduction in symptoms, with an improvement in their quality of life.