The cardiac care team from Cooper’s Structural Heart Disease Program recently performed its 1000th transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) procedure. The procedure was successfully performed on a 71-year-old South Jersey man.
“This represents a major milestone and the culmination of many years of training and experience for the Structural Heart Program and team since starting the TAVR program in 2012,” said Philip A. Koren, MD, FACC, FSCAI, Medical Director of the Cooper Heart Institute. “Cooper continues to have one of the most innovative and experienced TAVR teams in the region.”
TAVR is a minimally invasive procedure that allows for the replacement of a diseased aortic valve due to aortic stenosis with a new valve without requiring open heart surgery. The TAVR procedure involves feeding an artificial valve by catheter through an artery in the groin or the chest to the heart. Once placed in the correct position, the artificial valve is opened and begins to function immediately.
The multidisciplinary team – which includes cardiologists, anesthesiologists, radiologists, nurses, and technicians, among others – works in a coordinated way to assess patients and perform the TAVR procedure. They use a state-of-the-art hybrid operating room that combines advanced imaging technology and facilities that allow the team to perform this delicate implant procedure. Cooper has performed more TAVR procedures than any other hospital in southern New Jersey.
In 2018, Cooper and Inspira Health Network formed a joint venture to integrate cardiac services. This affiliation, called Cardiac Partners at Cooper and Inspira, provides patients in the South Jersey region with access to more coordinated cardiac services across the continuum of care.
Joseph Borgese, 71, of Mantua, 1000th TAVR patient, with his Cardiac Partners at Cooper and Inspira heart team, from left to right, Simon K. Topalian, MD, FACC, Interventional Cardiologist; Amy Petrini, BSN, RN, PCCN, Cardiology Clinical Director; Jeremy Witcher, RN; and Tara Jones, RN, BSN, Structural Heart Nurse Navigator.