St. Vincent’s expects first transcatheter aortic valve replacement this fall
St. Vincent’s Medical Center Riverside has been selected by Edwards Lifesciences to be the first hospital in the region to offer patients transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) therapy. There are only 13 other hospitals in the state of Florida offering this life-saving technology.
The neighborhood hospital anticipates performing its first TAVR procedure in September, according to hospital officials.
“St. Vincent’s has always been considered a leader in the field of cardiology. Edwards Lifesciences has carefully hand selected cardiovascular programs across the country that have a highly skilled multidisciplinary team and a history of providing high quality and innovative care to patients. We are excited to bring this technology to the citizens of Northeast Florida and Southeast Georgia,” said Moody Chisholm, CEO of St. Vincent’s HealthCare.
TAVR was approved by the Food and Drug Administration in 2011 for patients with severe aortic valve stenosis or severe narrowing of aortic valves.
“These patients were previously deemed inoperable by cardiac surgeons so this procedure is offering some of our sickest patients a second lease on life,” said Avondale resident Samer Garas, MD, of Diagnostic Cardiology Associates.
The TAVR procedure requires a multidisciplinary approach in a special operating room called a Hybrid O-R. St. Vincent’s Riverside just finished construction on its new 860-square-foot Hybrid operating room. An average operating room is 400 square feet but this one is more than double the size to accommodate the larger team and equipment needed for the procedure.
The team will deploy the Edwards SAPIEN valve through the femoral artery in the thigh. Previously patients needed open heart surgery to replace these diseased valves. The surgeon and his team are there to take immediate action if necessary.
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