Question:
Is Transcatheter Aortic Valve Replacement (TAVR) an FDA approved operation?
What are risks and mortality rate? What states perform this operation?
Submitted by Patricia from Maryland on 08/11/2014
Answer:
by Neil E. Strickman, MD
Yes, this procedure has been FDA-approved for the last two years. The major risk apart from death (from any procedure) is bleeding at the site of entry for the procedure. This is higher than with traditional surgery, however, the risk of morbidity with traditional surgery is higher that with TAVR.
This procedure is done at major medical centers in most all states of the US. The degree of experience, however, differs according to how many cases practitioners at a given center have done.
