TAVR IS A MINIMALLY-INVASIVE PROCEDURE TO REPLACE A DISEASED AORTIC  VALVE WITHOUT AN OPEN-HEART SURGERY 

Face2News/Chandigarh 

The Cardiology team at Fortis Hospital Mohali led by Dr RK Jaswal, Head of Department and Director of Cardiology and Director - Cathlabs, has successfully treated a 62-year-old patient suffering from multiple co-morbidities and unfit for surgery via the most advanced and non-surgical procedure of Transcatheter Aortic Valve Replacement (TAVR).

Normally, TAVR is performed by passing a wire from the groin artery backward through the blocked aortic valve into the left heart of the patient. On this wire, a cardiologist carries the valve from the groin artery to the heart and implants it there.

In this case, the major challenge was the patient’s native valve, which was badly blocked, deformed and calcified. Hence, the wire -- which acts as a track – was not crossing through the valve for implantation. The only route available for reaching this diseased valve non-surgically was to go from the groin vein to the right chambers of the heart, then to cross over through the septal puncture into the left heart, and then cross the valve in an opposite direction with a natural jet of blood.

This was the uniqueness of the surgery, following which Dr Jaswal also presented the case at the India Valve 2025, which is one of the most reputed valve conferences bringing expert cardiologists from across the world on a common platform to share their experiences.

TAVR is a minimally-invasive surgery to replace a diseased aortic valve without an open-heart surgery. This advanced technology is used to treat patients with aortic valve stenosis. In another case. The patient 62 years of age was suffering from Bicuspid Pinhole Severe Aortic Stenosis – (a congenital and serious heart condition wherein the aortic valve, which only has two flaps instead of three, narrows and limits blood flow from the heart to the body).

As the patient had been experiencing acute shortness of breath and fatigue, he approached Dr RK Jaswal, Head of Department and Director of Cardiology and Director, Cathlabs – who is first certified independent TAVR operator in the North region, at Fortis Hospital Mohali, recently.