St. Francis Hospital & Heart Center® Performs First Procedure Worldwide Using Latest Advancement in TAVR Surgery

On May 13, St. Francis Hospital & Heart Center® treated its first patient using the Evolut™ FX+ transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) system, a minimally invasive alternative to open-heart surgical aortic valve replacement. St. Francis Hospital & Heart Center is the first hospital in the world to make use of this new TAVR system, which further refines the trusted Evolut TAVR platform, designed to facilitate coronary access, for the treatment of severe aortic stenosis (ssAS).

The first procedure at St. Francis Hospital & Heart Center® was performed by Dr. Newell Robinson, Chairman of the Department of Cardiothoracic and Vascular Surgery and Co-Director of the Heart Valve Center, Dr. George Petrossian, Director of Interventional Cardiovascular Procedures and Co-Director of the Heart Valve Center, and Dr. Jaffar Khan, Director of Cardiovascular Innovation and Director of Interventional Electro-Surgery. Dr. Richard Shlofmitz, Chairman of the Department of Cardiology, performed the first coronary angiogram after the deployment of the FX + TAVR valve, thus utilizing the new Evolut FX+ TAVR technology to facilitate that portion of the procedure.

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. The disease can severely impact quality of life, limiting one’s ability to participate in daily activities. Left untreated, 50% of patients with patients with ssAS can die from heart failure in as little as two years.

This new design allows easier access to the coronary arteries, through a frame design four times larger than previous iterations of the Evolut TAVR system.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recently approved the Evolut FX+ TAVR system, equipping physicians at St. Francis Hospital & Heart Center with a new and very promising option for the treatment of ssAS, a disease whose patient population is growing.

"The TAVR procedure has evolved considerably in just a few short years,” explains Dr. Charles Lucore, President, St. Francis Hospital & Heart Center. “This newest advancement gives our cardiac teams yet another treatment option, which fosters improved outcomes and recovery. It’s one more reason why patients select St. Francis Hospital as their preference to receive the most advanced treatment options in cardiac care.”