The Cath Lab team that completed the first Evolut Pro implantation at WVU Medicine Wheeling Hospital included, front, from left: Shae Jorris, tech; cardiac surgeon Ganga Prabhakar, MD; Sommer Hans, RN; interventional cardiologists, Ramesh Daggubati, MD, and Deepak Hooda, MD; Olivia Licht, RDCS; and Crystal Pietranton, APP. Back, from left, are: Bryan Clark, tech; Tyler Jordan, Cath Lab manager; Taylor Sargent, CRNA; and Nathan Eggleston, RN.
WVU Medicine Wheeling Hospital has treated its first patient using the Evolut PRO+ Transcatheter Aortic Valve Replacement (TAVR) System, a minimally invasive alternative to open-heart surgical aortic valve replacement.
The first procedure at Wheeling Hospital was performed by the heart team led by Heart and Vascular Institute interventional cardiologists Ramesh Daggubati, MD, and Deepak Hooda, MD, and cardiac surgeon Ganga Prabhakar, MD.
“By adding this alternative aortic valve, we have more options for patients who need minimally invasive aortic valve surgery,” Dr. Duggubati said. “Having options for different patient scenarios is important for a strong structural heart program. With the support of WVU Medicine in Morgantown, Wheeling Hospital continues to grow and expand their structural heart services to better serve the community needs.”
Douglass Harrison, Wheeling Hospital president and CEO, said, “This latest advancement is an exciting milestone that demonstrates Wheeling Hospital’s commitment to improving cardiac care for heart valve disease patients.”
The self-expanding Evolut PRO+ TAVR System enables physicians to treat a broad range of patients with varying valve anatomies and includes four key valve sizes. The system provides physicians at Wheeling Hospital another option to treat the growing symptomatic severe aortic stenosis patient population.
Severe aortic stenosis occurs when the aortic valve leaflets become stiff and thickened and have difficulty opening and closing, making the heart work harder to pump blood to the rest of the body. Severe aortic stenosis often reduces a patient’s quality of life and limits their daily activities. If left untreated, patients with symptomatic severe aortic stenosis can die from heart failure in as little as two years.
The TAVR procedure involves guiding a catheter through a small incision in the groin, neck or space between the ribs to replace the function of the diseased aortic valve.