Minimally Invasive Aortic Valve Replacement versus Surgery Procedure

Aortic valve Stenosis is a disorder where the aortic valve is constricted because of calcified bicuspid valves. In turn, this formation of the valve causes disrupted blood circulation back to the heart. Although, the options for treatment include surgery which replaces the “native valve”, in fact, “about 30% of the patients cannot go through surgery procedure because of factors such as age or poor health”(Business Week). One of the methods to solve this issue is the minimally invasive technique. It is more specifically known as the transcatheter aortic-valve implantation or TAVI. The transcatheter method involves the insertion of a catheter through femoral artery to the heart. Then, the balloon inflates to allow for circulation. This replaces the damaged valve with “bioprosthetic valve”. The article discusses about a blind clinical study that was conducted to assess the surgical versus transcatheter methods for aortic valve replacement. The two year study, sponsored by “Edward Lifesciences, enrolled about 699 patients in 22 medical centers”(NEJM). The results were varied and mixed. The surgical method was advantageous to some extents as was the minimally invasive method. In addition to reducing the stay in intensive care unit and decreasing the symptoms, this transcatheter method increased the one year survival rate in “20% of the patients”.

http://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMoa1103510#t=articleDiscussion
http://www.healthjockey.com/images/lotus-valve-system.jpg
http://www.businessweek.com/lifestyle/content/healthday/643458.html