MEDIA COVERAGE: Saint Luke’s study acclaims alternative to heart valve replacement surgery

A minimally invasive procedure called transcatheter aortic valve replacement, or TAVR, has been common since about 2007, but it’s been reserved mainly for patients at a high risk of complications if they have open heart surgery.

Doctors at Saint Luke's Mid America Heart Institute published the results of a study that suggests the TAVR procedure is also a good alternative for patients who are classified as “intermediate risk.” Dr. Suzanne Baron, a Saint Luke's cardiologist and one of the study’s authors, said the findings could open up new options for patients with valve conditions. 

Dr. Baron and a local patient who's a former Major League Baseball pitcher, Fred Kipp, talked to KSHB and The Kansas City Star about the procedure. 

Saint Luke’s was one of the first hospitals to perform TAVR after it was approved roughly six years ago. We now perform about 200 TAVR procedures per year.

 

Read the Kansas City Star's article here.

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