News
Revolutionary heart procedure gives new hope
Feb 03, 2014
Life-saving procedures will be performed on patients who previously would not have been candidates for heart surgery when Lake Macquarie Private Hospital introduces revolutionary new technology next month.
Patients who cannot have open heart surgery due to their age or medical condition will soon have the option of undergoing a non-invasive procedure to implant an aortic valve.
The procedure, called transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI) will be available to select patients with severe symptomatic aortic stenosis who are not candidates for traditional open chest surgery or are high-risk operable candidates. TAVI is performed on a beating heart and does not require cardiac bypass.
CEO Ian Maytom said Lake Macquarie Private Hospital would soon be the only hospital in the Hunter region to offer this cutting edge procedure.
Lake Macquarie Private Cardiologist Dr Rohan Bhagwandeen said it was exciting to provide novel technology to carefully selected patients in the Hunter Region.
"This minimally invasive surgical procedure repairs the damaged valve by delivering a fully collapsible replacement valve. The valve is delivered through a catheter inserted either through a groin artery or a keyhole chest opening." said Dr Bhagwandeen.
"Once the new valve is expanded, it pushes the old valve leaflets out of the way and the tissue in the replacement valve takes over the job of regulating blood flow."
Lake Macquarie Cardiac Surgeon Dr Allen James said the procedure would suit patients who were older and who had other conditions which made them a suitable candidate for this type of surgery.
"TAVI can be an effective option to improve quality of life and even lengthen life in patients who otherwise have limited choices for repair of their aortic valve," Dr James said.
"It is fitting that Lake Macquarie Private, which has 30 years experience in heart operations, can now offer this further advance in cardiac procedures to patients. Lake Macquarie Private will be a recognised TAVI hospital offering a comprehensive program for heart patients in the area."
Lake Macquarie Private Hospital is a leading provider of cardiac services in the Hunter region having undertaken over 50,000 cardiac procedures and 7000 cardiac surgery operations.
The introduction of TAVI has been made possible through Lake Macquarie operators Ramsay Health Care in collaboration with Medtronic and Edwards Scientific.