Palmetto General Hospital is the first hospital in Florida and third in the United States to commercially implant a sutureless aortic valve in a patient with heart valve disease through a newly FDA-approved, minimally invasive delivery system.
The advanced EDWARDS INTUITY Elite valve system is a deployment device that incorporates some elements of transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR), a minimally invasive valve replacement procedure. The system is designed to streamline complex aortic valve replacements and result in less trauma to the body and quicker recovery times. The surgeon replaces a patient’s valve through an incision in the ribs, and it is delivered via a catheter into the heart.
Traditionally, open heart surgery is the preferred method for valve replacement but more cardiologists and cardiac surgeons are turning to minimally invasive approaches. Dr. Romualdo Segurola, medical director of The Heart Institute at Palmetto General Hospital, led the team that implanted the first sutureless aortic valve procedure in Florida.
