Westchester Medical Center Now Offering Transcatheter Aortic Valve Replacement (TAVR) With Next Day Home Discharge

Contact:

Dave Billig
(914) 493-8028
billigd@wcmc.com

Westchester Medical Center (WMC) recently announced that it is the first hospital in the Hudson Valley region and, one of the first in the tri-state area, to offer minimally invasive transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) with only local anesthesia allowing some patients to go home the next day.

Traditionally, TAVR surgery is performed under general anesthesia with an average hospital stay lasting anywhere between 2 to 7 days. For some, the hospital stay may be longer if the procedure is performed at a site on the patient's body other than their leg (transfemoral).

Since February 2015, over 75% of the patients who underwent a TAVR procedure at WMC had only local anesthesia—allowing them to recover and leave the hospital faster. Two recent patients were actually able to go home the very next day after having their aortic valve replaced.

"It is amazing to see how fast the technology has advanced and how quickly these patients recover and are able to go home after TAVR, with only IV sedation and local anesthesia." said Dr. Hasan Ahmad, interventional cardiologist and a member of the Transcatheter Heart Program. "Many times our patients have serious medical conditions, comorbidities and challenging anatomies. To be able to do TAVR transfemorally is the best option for them, and conscious sedation really makes a big difference."

"As a cardiac surgeon, I am impressed at how you can replace someone's diseased heart valve and have the patient go home the next day." said Dr. Gilbert Tang, Director of Valve Disease Center at WMC. "This is truly remarkable and newer devices now being approved by the FDA and soon to be available for use in the US will make these procedures even more accessible to many of our patients. Our program has had excellent outcomes, and patient safety is always our No. 1 priority. We are excited to offer newer and better devices to our patients and continue to reduce their hospital recovery time after TAVR. Our goal is to have our patients get back to the quality of life they want as quickly as possible."

To inquire more about TAVR at Westchester Medical Center, contact the Valve Program Hotline at (914) 830-1098 or e-mail HeartValve@wcmc.com.

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