In a multidisciplinary approach to cardiac care, two heart surgeons and two interventional cardiologists recently performed two successful percutaneous aortic valve replacement surgeries at WellStar Kennestone Hospital. These procedures offer an alternative for patients who previously were unable to have traditional aortic valve replacement due to co-morbidities or other issues.
The team of physicians who participated in the two surgeries included interventional cardiologists Dr. Reitman and Amar Patel, M.D., and heart surgeons William A. Cooper, M.D. and Richard Myung, M.D. Echocardiographer Sarita Kansal, M.D. and cardiac anesthesiologist Matt Grabowski, M.D. also participated.
During these surgeries, the replacement valve, called the Edwards SAPIEN transcatheter heart valve and developed by Edwards Lifesciences, was passed through a hole in the groin and advanced up to the patient’s heart. It substitutes for a more invasive procedure in which the chest has to be opened in order to replace the valve.
According to Dr. Arthur Reitman, Medical Director for Cardiac Catheterization, and Dr. William Cooper, Medical Director for Cardiac Surgery for WellStar Health System, these collaborative efforts between cardiology and cardiac surgery are a new paradigm for innovative therapies and transformative care delivery for patients who might not qualify for traditional valve surgery and offer a patient-centered, comprehensive approach to structural heart disease.
Both patients had successful procedures.
