The Cardiac Care Team at Richard L. Roudebush VA Medical Center is celebrating more than 30 successful Transcatheter Aortic Valve Replacement (TAVR) surgeries performed over one year, providing Veteran heart patients with reduced risk and dramatically improved post heart surgery recovery time.
Two years ago, RLR VAMC’s Cardiac Care doctors and nursing staff, began a rigorous training program to learn the TAVR surgical procedure and last February received approval from the National Surgery Office to employ it.
TAVR surgery is a minimally invasive surgical procedure performed to treat aortic stenosis in patients. Aortic stenosis occurs when the aortic valve in the heart becomes narrowed or stiff making it harder for the heart to pump blood which can create shortness of breath, chest pain or tightness, and fatigue or faintness for patients.
According to Dr. Eric Shin, RLR VAMC Interventional and Structural Cardiologist, TAVR is the preferred surgery option for patients who would be considered high-risk for open heart surgery due to age or chronic health conditions. “TAVR is an absolutely critical therapy to improve the quality of life and life span of our aging patients.”
Before TAVR, patients would undergo open-heart surgery with a typical recovery time of six months. With TAVR, a catheter is fed through the femoral artery in the groin to the heart or through a small incision in the chest near the collarbone, the neck or between the ribs and surgeons use the catheter to deliver the valve to the heart. TAVR surgery patient’s post-op recovery is typically two to three days.
“It is an amazing experience to follow up with these Veterans just one week after the procedure and hear about how much more energy they have, how good they feel, and how it has changed their life and outlook for their future,” said Travis Gress, combat Veteran and Cardiac Care Team Nurse.
“Getting to where we are now has been a real team effort, not only within the Cardiology Service,” said Gress. “The support from the administration and the hard work and training of our Surgical, ICU, and PACU have allowed Indianapolis VA to provide the best care to our nation’s veterans.”
Army Veteran Richard Hutchinson is RLR VAMC’s first TAVR surgery patient.” The Christmas before I had the operation, I had three light boxes that I needed to bring in the house. By the third load, I couldn’t even make it into the house,” said Hutchinson. “I looked at the situation very matter of factly. I either had to do something or die.”
One year after surgery, Hutchinson and his wife are enjoying a new life. “Marsha and I go for long walks, and I tend a quarter-acre vegetable garden,” said Hutchinson. “I have a lot of faith in the VA, they have taken great care of me.”
Shin, who performed Hutchinson’s heart surgery, said that RLR VAMC is currently the only Indiana VA facility performing TAVR surgeries. “I am thankful to be part of the team that can deliver this treatment to our Veterans at an institution they know and trust, where they can depend on receiving care from nurses and medical staff who understand them and the VA mission and provide some of the best care in the country.”
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