Newsroom

Santa Clara Valley Medical Center Hospitals & Clinics is proud to announce the successful launch of our new Transcatheter Aortic Valve Replacement (TAVR) Program at O’Connor Hospital. As leadership and staff faced the significant challenges brought by the pandemic, they continued to advance a new program to enhance care and services for cardiac patients.

O’Connor Hospital’s clinical multidisciplinary team performed their first two procedures last week. Both patients are recovering and doing well. Hospital leadership and the clinical multidisciplinary team spent 16 months developing the program as they continued to respond to the COVID-19 crisis.

Aortic stenosis affects about 1.5 million people in the U.S. People with aortic stenosis may develop symptoms such as chest pain, an irregular heart rhythm, episodes of fainting, and may even experience heart failure or cardiac arrest. Traditionally, these patients are treated with a surgical valve replacement, requiring open heart surgery. TAVR is a minimally invasive option in which a small incision is made in the groin, and a new valve is introduced and placed into the existing diseased valve using catheter guidance.

This procedure offers many benefits to our patients:

• Minimally invasive with small incision/wound
• Faster recovery time and fewer days spent in hospital
• Lower risk of complication than with surgical aortic valve replacement

Nearly three years ago O’Connor Hospital was in bankruptcy and on the verge of closing. Now, as part of the public healthcare system, the hospital census is at levels not seen in decades. The TAVR program is just one example of new services offered at O’Connor Hospital.

The program also demonstrates the healthcare system’s commitment to enhancing care with the latest medical innovations and technologies. We are proud to bring TAVR to the - patients in our community.