HARTFORD, Conn. (WTIC) – Hartford Hospital’s Structural Heart Team recognized an important milestone in performing an alternative, less invasive heart procedure for patients needing open heart surgery.
Doctors at the Heart and Vascular Institute at Hartford Hospital have performed over 1,000 Trans Catheter Aortic Valve Replacements, also known as TAVR. The procedure helps patients with aortic stenosis and not only offers a less intrusive method of treatment, but allows for quicker recovery times as well.
During a celebration ceremony Friday – held in the Education Resource Center lobby at Hartford Hospital – doctors, administrators and patients alike shared their story and experience with the ‘game-changing’ procedure.
“It’s a minimally invasive technique to replace the aortic valve,” said Chief of Cardiac Surgery Dr. Robert Hagberg. “Typically now we do it by introducing the valve in the groin arteries and then advancing it up into the heart and then deploying the new valve inside of the old valve, pushing the old valve out of the way.”
He added the new valve takes over immediately, making it much less invasive than standard open heart surgery.
Last year, Hartford Hospital’s Structural Heart Team was selected to participate in a nationwide study involving TAVR, where only 35 hospitals were chosen across the country. Hartford Hospital was also the only healthcare center in New England to join the registry allowing TAVR procedures in low-risk patients without randomization to surgery.
“The research started in a smart way,” said Dr. Hagberg. “The first phase of rolling the technology out was done in patients not eligible to have surgery, in other words they were too sick or old to undergo open heart surgery and were turned down for surgery.”
He noted in those patients, the results showed that TAVR was much better than best medical therapy. From there, the procedure carried to high risk patients, then intermediate patients and now low risk patients.
Dr. Hagberg added, “It’s started in the right way and it’s progressed in the right way. All the way to being scientifically studied compared to open heart surgery, so there’s very rigorous science being done in trying to figure out if this technology was good and where it’s place is.”
In addition to hearing from Doctors at the ceremony, patients also shared their experiences with TAVR.
Steve Wheeler was a TAVR patient at Hartford Hospital and he says the procedure has basically given him “new life.”
“Before I got into TAVR I couldn’t make it up one flight of stairs,” said Wheeler. “37 days after the operation I was skiing out in Colorado, it was awesome – absolutely no pain.”
The quick recovery time is a notable benefit, as some patients can actually leave the hospital a day after the procedure. The only restriction is no heavy lifting for two weeks, which is still a significant difference from the eight to ten-week heavy lifting restriction after open heart surgery.
Wheeler also spoke on the excellent care he received from the staff saying they were “absolutely superb.”
High praise for the support staff at Hartford Hospital was a common theme Friday afternoon, which is something that CEO and President Jeffrey Flaks says is part of their culture.
“It’s the fact that we live our values – integrity, caring, excellence and safety,” said Flaks. “Our staff believes in it and it shows up in the way we interact with our patients every day.”
That strong support staff continues to help in treating TAVR patients, as doctors at the Heart and Vascular Institute at Hartford Hospital were the first in the state to perform the procedure and now oversee one of the largest programs in New England.
“We’re pioneers in this program,” said Flaks. “It’s about access, our community and it’s about extending world leading best practices to people in our region.”
Moving forward, Dr. Hagberg said a great deal of positive research has been done, but they still do not have all the answers. In the meantime, Jeffery Flaks says they will continue to conduct ground-breaking and innovative research, like TAVR.
“We’re offering the leading clinical trials in the country here,” said Flaks. “It’s so exciting in medicine today, the advances are happening right in front of our eyes and we want to ensure that they’re happening right here in Connecticut.”