A Transcatheter Aortic Valve Replacement (TAVR) was successfully performed on an 82-year-old patient at Care Hospitals here recently.
The patient underwent bypass surgery in 2004 and had undergone cancer treatment in 2009. He developed severe narrowing of the aortic valve recently and was on the verge of heart failure. In view of his advanced age and other medical issues, the team of cardiologists at the hospital considered an open heart surgery risky.
The doctors then decided to perform TAVR and informed the patient’s family and they consented to the procedure. The team informed the family that this was the first-ever TAVR to be performed in Andhra Pradesh. It was performed by Dr. C.V. Rao, Dr. P.V.V.N.M. Kumar, Dr. Anoop Agarwal and a team of CT surgeons and anaesthetists.
Rapid treatment
The patient was admitted on March 10 and TAVR was done on the next day. The patient was discharged in three days. The procedure marks the beginning of a new paradigm in treating elderly people with valve disease, who otherwise carry a very high risk for open heart surgery.
Aortic Stenosis (AS) is a condition where the aortic valve, which connects the heart to the rest of the body, becomes stenosed (restricted opening). A stenosed valve impedes the flow of blood. Severe AS places significant stress on the heart muscles which would then have to pump blood against an obstruction. This often results in death.