Submitted by Providence Health and Services
Providence St. Peter Hospital has started a transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) program for Southwest Washington.
The structural heart interdisciplinary team at St. Peter Hospital already operates a busy TAVR program. The Heart Team comprises a team of nine MD’s, who are highly trained including a structural heart fellowship trained M.D. on staff.
About the Procedure
Surgical aortic valve replacement was historically the only treatment option for aortic stenosis (AS), but in 2011 TAVR was approved for patients who were considered at high risk for surgery. Recently, in 2016, TAVR was approved for intermediate surgical risk patients.
While open-heart surgery requires sternotomy, TAVR involves placement of an aortic valve through a catheter-based delivery system. The TAVR procedure can be delivered through a transfemoral, transapical or transaortic approach. TAVR is beneficial for many patients whose treatment options were very limited in the past.
A patient’s experience with a TAVR procedure is comparable to a balloon treatment or even an angiogram in terms of down time and recovery, and will likely require a shorter hospital stay (typically one to three days).
Providence physicians perform TAVR procedures in the new Hybrid OR at St. Peter Hospital. Plans are also underway to expand the valve clinic into other procedures, where an ARNP and dedicated staff will coordinate pre- and post-op care for valve replacement patients.
For more information contact Michael Eveland, ARNP Valve Clinic Coordinator Southwest Washington, Michael.Eveland@providence.org at 360-493-5286 or via fax at 360-493-7759.
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