North Mississippi Medical Center’s Heart and Vascular Institute has become the first hospital in Mississippi to perform 1,000 transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) surgeries.  

Open heart surgery is usually done to repair or replace severely damaged heart valves, but unfortunately not everyone is a surgical candidate. In February 2012, NMMC became the first hospital in Mississippi and the seventh nationwide to offer TAVR, a promising alternative for high-risk patients for whom heart surgery was not an option. 

TAVR has been a breakthrough for high-risk patients who suffer from aortic stenosis, a narrowing of the aortic valve opening that limits blood flow from the heart out to the rest of the body. Aortic stenosis has been compared to a kink in a water hose that has to be relieved in order to keep the water—or in this case, blood—flowing. 

Without treatment, a person’s heart could get larger until it has trouble pumping. Fluid could build up in the lungs, and the heart could begin to fail. The heartbeat could become erratic, and the person could suffer a heart attack and die. 

TAVR allows a team of doctors to replace a diseased valve without open heart surgery and without stopping the heart. TAVR is done by a cardiologist and cardiothoracic surgeon together in NMMC’s hybrid operating room, which is a cross between a cardiac catheterization laboratory and a surgery suite. 

TAVR can be performed three ways: through an incision in the patient’s leg, carotid artery or between ribs. 

NMMC cardiothoracic surgeon Dr. David Talton, who performed the first case in 2012 as well as the 1,000th case, says TAVR technology has made great strides over the last decade. “The procedure is easier and safer now than it was 14 years ago,” Dr. Talton said. “Patients used to stay three days; now they go home the next day.”

“Open heart surgery is still the treatment of choice for valve replacement, but for high-risk patients—those who are older or have other serious health issues—TAVR is an excellent option,” he said.

For more information about TAVR and other procedures offered at NMMC, call 1-800-THE DESK (1-800-843-3375) or visit nmhs.net/heart-vascular.