Memorial Hermann The Woodlands Performs 300th TAVR Procedure

THE WOODLANDS, TX -- The team of affiliated doctors and nurses at Memorial Hermann Heart & Vascular Institute at Memorial Hermann The Woodlands Medical Center recently performed the hospital’s 300^th transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) procedure.

TAVR is a minimally invasive procedure to replace the aortic valve in patients with severe aortic stenosis, a thickening of the aortic valve that keeps the valve from fully opening, limiting blood flow. Patients with aortic stenosis may experience chest pain, shortness of breath and fatigue.

“Patients report feeling better almost immediately after surgery. They have more energy. They no longer experience chest pain, and they have an overall better quality of life,” said Stephen Maniscalco, MD, affiliated surgeon and director of cardiothoracic and vascular surgery at Memorial Hermann The Woodlands. “Performing the 300^th TAVR procedure is a reflection of the high-quality care patients have come to know and expect at Memorial Hermann The Woodlands.”

In conventional open-heart surgery, surgeons make a large incision in the chest to reach the aortic valve, and it can take months for patients to fully recover. However, the TAVR procedure requires just a small puncture in the leg. Physicians guide a catheter through an artery to the heart in order to replace the valve.

“This milestone is a testament to the hard work and dedication that our team of doctors and nurses deliver every day,” said Scott Bassett, MD, an interventional cardiologist with Memorial Hermann Medical Group The Woodlands. “It just further illustrates that Memorial Hermann The Woodlands is a leader in heart health care.”

Patients who have the TAVR procedure often spend just one day in the hospital and experience a quicker recovery than with traditional aortic valve replacement surgery.