On November 20, McKay-Dee hospital announced the completion of their five hundredth trans-catheter aortic valve replacement. Barry Bues, the hospital's Chief Operating Officer, announced it at the hospital's celebratory event last week.
“This achievment places McKay-Dee hospital among leading hospitals nationwide," said Bues.
Called TAVR for short, it is a procedure that has revolutionized the treatment of aortic valve disease.
Dr. Eric Lindley, medical director for cardiovascular services at McKay-Dee Hospital and the Intermountain North area market, said that as people age, this valve typically starts to wear out and narrow, causing the heart to have to work much harder with every heartbeat.
“And as it narrows over time, patients usually start to not do so well. They get tired, they get out of breath, they stop doing the things that they love, like mowing the lawn or taking out the trash or going to grandkids ball games or even working," said Dr. Lindley.
He said a severely narrowed aortic valve is a lethal disease akin to stage four cancer in terms of how long someone can live without getting it treated.
Before 2009, the only way to treat this valve disease was through open heart surgery. That changed with the less invasive technology - TAVR, where a tube or catheter with a brand new valve at the end of it is inserted into a large artery in the leg.
“ WE push that tube, using ultrasound and radiology guidance, up to where your old heart valve is, and we crush your old heart valve out of the way, sticking it to the walls of the heart and the aorta, replacing it with a new valve," said Dr. Lindley.
Essentially, it allows them to replace the valve without opening the chest and without stopping the heart. It also shrinks recovery time from a week in the hospital to one night for the average patient.
“We've brought it out of these major centers to more local communities in a really safe and effective fashion," said Dr. Lindley.
58 year-old Kristi Gagnier recently underwent the life-saving procedure and said she immediately noticed a difference, a life changing one.
“I was so so so sick that I couldn't stand up. I kept passing out. And the day after my surgery, I was ready. I could have ran the marathon. I was that much better," said Gagnier.
