Mon Health Heart & Vascular Center Reaches TAVR Milestone

Physicians at the Mon Health Heart & Vascular Center have reached a milestone performing the institute’s 100th and 101st Transcatheter Aortic Valve Replacement (TAVR) procedures, an alternative for patients who may not be healthy enough for open heart surgery.

TAVR is for people who have been diagnosed with severe symptomatic aortic valve disease and who are at high risk or too sick for traditional open heart surgery. This less invasive procedure allows a new artificial valve to be inserted within the diseased aortic valve.

The 100th and 101st TAVR procedures were both completed on May 24 at Mon Health Medical Center for a 93-year-old male and 76-year-old male. The procedures were performed by Alexander Nagy, MD, Chief of Cardiothoracic Surgery at Mon Health Heart & Vascular Center, and John McKnight, MD, Mon Health Heart & Vascular Center Interventional Cardiologist.

In November 2013, both Nagy and McKnight were part of the Mon Health team that performed the first two TAVR procedures at Mon Health Medical Center. The hospital was the first in North Central West Virginia to offer TAVR.

“We have reached a TAVR milestone at Mon Health,” said Nagy. “Being able to offer the least invasive approach to repair heart valves is extremely beneficial to our patients. Synchronized teamwork between cardiac surgeons and cardiologists is key to the success of the Mon Health cardiac program. I was a member of the team who performed the first TAVR procedure in the region on Nov. 1, 2013, and I can confirm the excellent results we had on high-risk patients.”

The TAVR procedure was approved by the FDA (Food and Drug Administration) in November 2011 after an extensive trial in both the United States and Europe.

 “We’ve had good success with the procedure and it proves that a small, dedicated team at a community hospital can successfully provide state-of-the-art care keeping West Virginia patients in West Virginia to get this quality care,” said McKnight.

Follow-up care continues to be a team approach through the Mon Health Valve Clinic and is done in conjunction with the patient’s primary care physician.

For more information about Mon Health’s TAVR program.





Dr. Alexander Nagy, left, and Dr. John McKnight performed Mon Health Medical Center's 100th and 101st Transcatheter Aortic Valve Replacement (TAVR).