Palm Beach Gardens Medical Center further advances its structural heart program with the arrival of the Transcaval TAVR procedure for patients who may not be candidates for open heart surgery or the traditional TAVR procedure. Up to 1.5 million people in the United States suffer from aortic stenosis, a progressive disease that affects the aortic valve in their hearts.
Approximately 250,000 of these patients suffer from severe symptomatic aortic stenosis, often developing debilitating symptoms that can restrict normal day-to-day activities, such as walking short distances or climbing stairs. Some of these patients may be too high risk to undergo open heart surgery, and therefore qualify for a less invasive procedure – TAVR (transcatheter aortic-valve replacement).
For patients who qualify for TAVR, but have severe blockages in the peripheral arteries, a “transcaval” approach is a newer option in which a structural heart specialist implants the TAVR valve through the vein next to the aorta, and then transfers it into the aorta. Once access is obtained to the aorta the TAVR procedure proceeds. At the end of the procedure, a special plug is used to seal the opening in the aorta.
“We were the first hospital in Palm Beach County and the Treasure Coast to perform open-heart surgery, so it is certainly fitting that our hospital and physicians can now bring this new Transcaval TAVR procedure to our community,” said Chief Executive Officer of Palm Beach Gardens Medical Center, Dianne Goldenberg. “Our hospital has always been on the forefront for cardiac care, and we want to offer patients who have been considered inoperable or high risk new hope with the Transcaval TAVR procedure.”
“This procedure offers a new option to patients who may be high risk for a traditional TAVR,” said Dr. Saurabh Sanon, Medical Director of the Structural Heart Transcatheter Therapies Program at Palm Beach Gardens Medical Center. “This procedure can be a safer and more comfortable option for patients as opposed to having the TAVR valve inserted directly through a surgical incision site in the chest.”
To learn more information or to see if you may be a candidate for the TAVR procedure, go to our website at www.pbgmc.com.
