Cardio-Cerebrovascular Center at Seoul St. Mary’s Hospital Performs Over 200 Cases of TAVI in 2022

The Transcatheter Aortic Valve Implantation (TAVI) Team at the Cardio-Cerebrovascular Center at Seoul St. Mary’s Hospital performed its 200th TAVI procedure in 2022 on December 28.

The TAVI Team has been achieving steady growth since its first TAVI procedure in 2012, recording 50 cases in 2016 and surpassing 100 cases in 2018 for a cumulative total of 830 cases as of November 2022. TAVI is a procedure in which a damaged heart valve is replaced by inserting a stent through the femoral artery in the thigh. Chest pain or shortness of breath is eased on the day of the procedure, and hospital discharge is possible in 2 to 3 days on average after the procedure.

The TAVI Team led by Dr. Chang Ki-yuk, Professor of Cardiology and Director of the Cardio-Cerebrovascular Center, is comprised of experienced medical staff from the fields of Cardiology, Thoracic Surgery, Anesthesiology and Pain Medicine, and Radiology. Taking a multidisciplinary approach, they have achieved a 30-day survival rate of 97.4% and a two-year survival rate of 96.6%.

Aortic valve stenosis is a disease in which the aortic valve, located between the left ventricle and the aorta of the heart, becomes hardened and narrowed due to aging. When this valve becomes dysfunctional, blood cannot flow properly from the heart to the aorta, and the heart has to work extra hard to supply blood throughout the whole body, resulting in thickened heart muscle. This in turn restricts the amount of blood outflow and leads to symptoms such as shortness of breath, chest pain, and fainting. When such symptoms appear, the patient’s condition deteriorates rapidly, and most patients die within 2 years.

TAVI is a treatment that allows a new aortic valve to be inserted without open heart surgery for patients aged 70 years or older or high-risk patients with severe aortic valve stenosis. As a relatively quick procedure that causes minimal pain and requires 3 to 4 days of hospitalization afterwards, TAVI is ideal for elderly patients who are physically frail.

The hybrid operating room at the Cardio-Cerebrovascular Center of Seoul St. Mary’s Hospital is among the largest in Korea, and it is equipped with state-of-the-art medical equipment such as a navigator to help position the valve more effectively and safely. With years of experience, the TAVI Team was successful in performing TAVI via the axillary artery in April, as well as on an elderly patient with a complex case in November, and has provided optimal treatment for patients with severe aortic valve stenosis.

The team is also successfully performing the latest transcatheter mitral valve-in-valve replacement (TMVR), recognized globally as a new health technology and approved by the FDA. TMVR is a procedure in which an artificial valve is inserted to replace the mitral valve through an artificial hole created in the atrial septum, which is the wall between the right and left atria, after accessing the right atrium of the heart by inserting a catheter through the femoral vein.

“Under the excellent leadership of Dr. Chang Ki-yuk, Director of the Cardio-Cerebrovascular Center, we have reached the landmark of performing 200 cases of TAVI in a single year. I would like to once again thank the entire staff at the Cardio-Cerebrovascular Center for their hard work and dedication in TAVI”, said Dr. Yoon Seung-kew, President of Seoul St. Mary’s Hospital.

Dr. Chang Ki-yuk, Director of Cardio-cerebrovascular Center, said, “Performing 200 TAVI procedures in one year is a rare achievement in Korea, and it is a meaningful result achieved through collaboration and cooperation among the medical staff.

Meanwhile, the Cardio-cerebrovascular Center of Seoul St. Mary’s Hospital held a ceremony at 4:00 p.m. on December 28 to celebrate the execution of the 200th TAVI procedure in 2022.