Redefining Possibilities in Heart Valve Repair and Replacement
Penn Medicine's Heart Valve Disease Program has grown dramatically in recent years and is now the largest in the region. Rapidly evolving improvements in the treatment of valve disease continue to drive that growth.
Transcatheter Aortic Valve Replacement (TAVR)
Joseph E. Bavaria, MD and Howard C. Herrmann, MD answer questions about Transcatheter Aortic Valve Replacement (TAVR).
Finding the Best Alternative for Every Patient
Patients with a wide variety of mitral, aortic, pulmonic and tricuspid valve diseases come to Penn. In fact, Penn Medicine is a leading referral center for the most challenging heart valve disease cases, such as those involving patients:
- Facing advanced disease.
- With co-existing medical conditions.
- Requiring additional procedures to correct previously unsuccessful surgery.
Penn's team of heart valve specialists emphasize:
- Minimally invasive surgery.
- Valve repair rather than valve replacement wherever possible.
- New hybrid therapies for valve replacement that can replace two traditional procedures by a combination of less invasive procedures performed in the cardiac catheterization laboratory and the operating room.
- New transcatheter (catheter-based) options to treat patients who previously have not been good candidates for surgery.
Collaboration Translates to Exceptional Care
Penn Medicine's program combines the skills of:
- Experts in diagnostic cardiac imaging.
- Interventional cardiologists specializing in high-risk catheter-based treatments.
- Surgeons experienced in catheter-based, minimally invasive, hybrid, robotic and conventional procedures.
Cardiologists and cardiovascular surgeons work as a team to carefully select the type of heart valve and procedure that is best for every patient. Whenever possible, valve repair is preferred to preserve the patient's own heart valve and avoid life-long anticoagulation (blood thinning) therapy.
Expertise in a Full Range of Procedures
Procedures include (but are not limited to):
- Advanced port-access surgery for mitral valve repair and replacement.
- Balloon valvuloplasty to treat mitral stenosis and aortic stenosis.
- Percutaneous (catheter-based) mitral valve clip repair to treat mitral regurgitation.
- Transcatheter aortic valve replacement or surgery to treat aortic stenosis.
- Valve-sparing aortic root replacement.
- Complex aortic root construction of all types.
- Robotic surgery with three-dimensional endoscopic imaging.
Need an appointment? Request one online 24 hours/day, 7 days/week or call 800-789-PENN (7366) to speak to a referral counselor.