Doctors at Abbott Northwestern hospital in Minneapolis, Minnesota, kept a 104-year-old patient awake during a trancscather aortic valve replacement (TAVR), a move that has helped her recover faster, according to a new article by a Minnesota NBC affiliate.
Abbott physicians have been using this method with many TAVR patients because they’ve been performing a less invasive surgery. Instead of opening patients’ chests, the physicians are just using a series of catheters to insert a new heart valve.
"Patients really appreciate it because they are awake early after the procedure and recover much easier," said Mario Goessl, MD, a physician at the Minneapolis Heart Institute at Abbott Northwestern.
The procedure only took about an hour and the patient is recovering well and getting back to her active lifestyle.
To read more about the procedure and what physicians at Abbott Northwestern are doing, follow the link below:
Senior Writer
As a Senior Writer for TriMed Media Group, Katherine primarily focuses on producing news stories, Q&As and features for Cardiovascular Business. She reports on several facets of the cardiology industry, including emerging technology, new clinical trials and findings, and quality initiatives among providers. She is based out of TriMed's Chicago office and holds a bachelor's degree in journalism from Columbia College Chicago. Her work has appeared in Modern Healthcare, Crain's Chicago Business and The Detroit News. She joined TriMed in 2016.